One of October’s highlights is going out to the pumpkin patch. It’s no wonder it’s a favorite for kids and they love doing it year after year.
Against the backdrop of gold and brown, pumpkins seem to glow. Each season has its own colors and yellow, orange, and red are unmistakably fall. Seasonal changes can be a source of wonder for kids. The temperature is cooler, days are shorter with dark coming before bedtime, plants are dying and drying, and there are fewer bugs and birds. Going out to choose a pumpkin is a wonderful way to connect with the season of fall.
There’s so much fun and learning that happens in a pumpkin patch.
• Special words are needed to tell about pumpkins, like round, wrinkled, heavy, stem, vine, flat, curved, and more.
• Even a small pumpkin can be fairly heavy, and the bigger ones weigh as much as a child. Muscles get lots of exercise in a pumpkin patch as kids run, bend, walk, and carry.
• As kids choose a pumpkin, they are comparing them for size, shape, and color. This is an important thinking skill. There’s a lot of information to consider before kids make their choice.
• Not just language and exercise, there’s math and science too. How many pumpkins could there be? Count some of them. As for science, kids get to see how and where pumpkins grow.
• A visit to a pumpkin patch certainly appeals to the senses.
Eyes are busy looking all around, while fingers explore the smooth skin and bumpy stems. Noses can smell the dirt and mud and the drying leaves and stalks. Ears hear voices, boots crunching on leaves and dry grass, and maybe a wagon or tractor. The taste part happens at home, unless there’s hot chocolate or pumpkin treats outside.
There’s so much to explore and enjoy in a pumpkin patch. Is there one in your area for a family adventure?