Interactive Learning with Pre-K Pumpkins Science Unit

It’s not uncommon to see pumpkins everywhere you go this time of year. They are outside of houses, in the stores, at the farms, and even in the classroom! Maybe you live where you’ll take your class on a field trip to a pumpkin patch. Or maybe you’re bringing in a pumpkin from the store for your class to explore. Pumpkins are great for decorating, but they also make learning more fun during October! Our Pre-K Pumpkins Science Unit is a treasure trove of knowledge and fun activities for young learners.

We love to practice spelling our names with this Pumpkin Name Building Activity. And I love to use these October Math and Literacy Centers for pre-k that are full of fun pumpkin learning activities. We hear lots of giggles in the classroom with our jack o’lantern memory game.

My students enjoy crafts, so I always make sure to fit in a few of my favorite basic pre-k pumpkins activities. These paper pumpkin and pinecone pumpkin crafts are adorable.

And while pumpkins are fun to incorporate into your math and literacy activities, they really and truly lend themselves best to science. Science is the perfect way to get students learning without realizing they’re learning.

We already explored apples last month with this science unit so, of course, we have to follow it up with another simple pre-k fall unit, our Pumpkins Science Unit for Pre-k. This unit makes learning all about pumpkins fun and engaging. 

Pre-k Pumpkins Science Unit

This Pumpkins Science Unit for Pre-k was made especially for pre-k students in mind, but can surely be used with preschoolers, kindergarteners, and homeschoolers as well. 

The unit is full of hands-on learning activities that will turn your students into pumpkin experts in no time. Your littlest learners will be engaged in pre-k pumpkin exploration lessons and you’ll love all of the teacher materials that are given to support you in teaching a successful unit on pumpkins. 

Inside You’ll Find

• Unit Overview
• Lesson Plans
• At-Home Letter
• Teacher Guide
• Science Center Instructions
• Science Questions / Science Talk
• Books List
• Videos List
• Songs List
• Pumpkin Posters and PowerPoint
• Pumpkin Five Senses Activity
• Fingerplay
• Pumpkin Colors Emergent Reader
• Parts of a Pumpkin Posters
• Parts of a Pumpkin Emergent Reader
• Parts of a Pumpkin Worksheet
• Pumpkin Life Cycle Posters
• Pumpkin Life Cycle Hat
• Question of the Week
• Pumpkin and Apple Compare Activity
• Pumpkin STEM Activities
• A Pumpkin Grows Emergent Reader

BONUS MATERIALS

• Writing Center
• Definition Posters
• Word Wall
• Circle Map
• Pumpkins Emergent Reader
• Pumpkin Bingo
• Pumpkin Taste Test Worksheets
• Pumpkin Can-Have-Are Activity
• Sensory Bin
• Pumpkin Surprise in a Cup Recipe

Materials Needed 

• Copy Paper
• Construction Paper
• Coloring Tools
• Scissors
• Glue
• Pumpkins! 

Using the Pre-k Pumpkins Science Unit

Once you have purchased and downloaded the unit, you’ll have instant access to all of the incredible materials inside. 

The unit includes a wide variety of materials, so preparation will depend on which activities you choose to use. We’ll give you a brief overview of all that’s inside, so that you can have a better understanding of this pre-k unit. 

Unit Overview

The unit overview gives you a glimpse of everything that you now own. With a small sample of pictures and a short explanation of each and every resource that is in the unit, you can look through everything at a glance to give you a better idea of what you’re working with. 

Lesson Plans

The pre-k pumpkins science unit includes a week-long lesson plan for you to use. You can use the lesson plans as a guide, as they’re written, or you don’t have to use them at all! They are simply there in case you want or need some ideas on how to structure the unit. 

At-Home Letter

Involving families in their child’s learning is so important. That’s why we include a simple home letter for you to print, copy, cut, and send home with each of your students, so their families know what they’re learning about in science this week!

Teacher Guide

Since you may not already know everything there is to know about pumpkins, we’ve created a comprehensive teacher guide full of information and fun facts to provide you with more background knowledge about pumpkins!

Science Center Ideas

The unit includes a suggestion page for creating a science center in your classroom relating to the topic, so that you can extend the pumpkins investigation in pre-k to be included during center time too! 

Pumpkin Science Questions / Science Talk

Use our provided list of questions about pumpkins with your students to help them use their critical thinking skills and to pique their curiosity about the subject.

Book, Video, and Song Lists

It can be so annoying to have to run to Google looking for an age-appropriate book, song, or video for every topic you teach. That’s why we have clickable lists in the pre-k pumpkins science unit that will take you right to our favorite pumpkin resources!

Pumpkin Posters and PowerPoint

To kick off the unit, you can use the Pumpkin PowerPoint and the matching set of printable posters to introduce pumpkins to your students. The PowerPoint includes basic pumpkin facts for pre-k that will help everyone to have a better understanding of the orange fruit! 

Pumpkin Five Senses Activity

The unit comes with headers and a worksheet to engage your students in discussion and pumpkin observations using their five senses. 

Fingerplay

Fingerplays are fun songs, rhymes, or chants that can be used to transition between activities or just for fun. The unit comes with two fingerplays that can be used throughout your time learning about pumpkins!

Pumpkin Colors Emergent Reader

The unit includes multiple emergent readers. One of them is the Pumpkin Colors emergent reader that can help your students practice reading while also reviewing color words. 

Parts of a Pumpkin Posters 

One of the most important parts of exploring pumpkins in pre-k is learning about the different parts of a pumpkin. The unit has several Parts of a Pumpkin Posters you can use to teach your little learners all about the inside and outside of pumpkins! 

Parts of a Pumpkin Emergent Reader

After learning about the parts of a pumpkin, students can complete the Parts of a Pumpkin reader. The reader comes with an interactive version as well, where students can trace the words. 

Parts of a Pumpkin Worksheet

Another option after learning about the different parts of a pumpkin is to use the parts of a pumpkin worksheet where students can trace the names of the different parts. 

Pumpkin Life Cycle Posters

It wouldn’t be a pumpkins science unit if we didn’t learn about the pumpkin life cycle! The unit comes with posters that teach all about the different steps in the life cycle of a pumpkin. 

Pumpkin Life Cycle Hat

After learning about the life cycle of a pumpkin, students can show what they’ve learned by creating an adorable pumpkin life cycle hat. 

Question of the Week

The pumpkin unit comes with a pumpkin question of the week to use with your students to help engage the class in discussion about pumpkins. 

Pumpkin and Apple Compare Activity

If you’re like us and study apples before pumpkins, then you’ll love that the unit includes a pumpkin and apple compare and contrast activity. The activity includes headers to make a big Venn diagram on the board or the floor and a worksheet version as well. 

Pumpkin STEM Activities

The best learning occurs when our students are exploring! The science unit comes with several pumpkin STEM activities that will encourage your students to use their hands and their brains to complete pre-k pumpkins science experiments and challenges. 

A Pumpkin Grows Emergent Reader

The unit comes with an emergent reader that focuses on the different stages of the pumpkin life cycle. These are great to use in small groups or to even put in your reading center.

Writing Center

I love focusing my writing center on whatever we’re learning about that week. The pumpkins science unit includes writing cards and materials relating to pumpkins that you can put in your writing center to encourage writing and drawing all about pumpkins!

Definition Posters

Since any new subject is always filled with new vocabulary words, the pumpkins unit comes with definition posters for all of the vocabulary words. These are great to have on hand to refer to during the unit. 

Word Wall

For every vocab word, the unit includes a word wall card that you can add to your word wall, a pocket chart, etc. to help your students remember the different words.

Circle Map

Circle maps are a type of graphic organizer that can be used at the beginning of a unit to see what students already know or towards the end of the unit to see what they’ve learned. You can use them as a whole-class activity, where you write in the organizer, or as an individual activity, where the students write or draw in each circle.

Pumpkins Emergent Reader

Perfect for your reading center, the Pumpkins emergent reader is full of bright, real-life pictures and simple words to celebrate our love of pumpkins!

Pumpkin Bingo

The pumpkin bingo game included in the unit can help your students practice listening skills and pumpkin vocabulary words, all while having fun! Bingo is a great way to end the unit, use as a fun-Friday activity, or as something to do when you have parent volunteers in the classroom. 

Pumpkin Taste Test Worksheets

Having a taste test is a fun way to engage your students’ sense of taste during the unit! If you’re able to do a taste test, you can choose from an assortment of worksheets where students can vote for their favorite tastes. 

Pumpkin Can-Have-Are Activity

After learning all about pumpkins, you can complete a can-have-are activity with your students! This works great as a whole group activity on the rug.

Sensory Bin

There can never be too many hands-on pumpkin activities for kids! The unit comes with directions on how to make an engaging pumpkins sensory bin for your students to play in and explore with. 

Pumpkin Surprise in a Cup Recipe

To culminate the unit, you can use our provided recipe to make an easy pumpkin snack with your students! 

Download the Pre-K Pumpkins Science Unit today!

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Uncover the wonders of pumpkins with our Pre-K science unit. Perfect for hands-on learning and engaging curious young students.

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