It’s fall, y’all! In this lesson, we will learn how flowering plants go from seed to harvest in the fall. We’ll look closely at pumpkins and pine cones, and we’ll even grow our own sprouts. (No green thumb required—trust us.) Plus, we’ll take a look at one of the most iconic American paintings. If possible, we recommend visiting a pumpkin patch the weekend before or early on in this week so you will have pumpkin seeds to use for two of the lessons. Doesn’t work for your schedule? No problem—we linked seeds you can buy below. To track your progress, click here for a printable worksheet where you can log what you read, what activities you did, and what skills your child has learned.
Note: Occasionally we include project modifications (which can be useful for including younger siblings). We’ll mark those with the minus (-) symbol.
What you need:
Books (find at your local library or order below on Amazon)
- From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons (or read here it on OpenLibrary here)
- From Seed to Pumpkin by Wendy Pfeffer (or read here it on OpenLibrary here)
- Hello, Harvest Moon by Ralph Fletcher (or listen to this read aloud)
***Can’t get your books in time? Be sure to search the title on YouTube for free read-aloud options.
Supplies (use what you have, but here are links to shop if you need anything)
- paper + access to a printer (don’t have one? we like this model)
- glue
- pumpkin seeds (or get them from your own pumpkin!)
- cupcake liners or use printable
- permanent markers
- orange, green, brown, and black cardstock or construction paper
- scissors
- orange and brown or green yarn (plus other colors for wrapping craft)
- clear contact paper (you could also use a laminator pocket and a laminator if you already own one)
- painter’s tape or masking tape
- glitter (optional)
- popcorn kernels
- sensory bin (or you could use a deep baking dish)
- measuring cups, funnels, and/or other small cups
- popsicle sticks
- hot glue gun + glue
- washable paint
- large pom-poms (or you can use a cotton ball)
- clothespins
- crayons or other color supplies
- red, yellow, and orange tissue paper
- 3 glass bowls
- pine cones (can’t find any outside? we found these on Amazon)
- fine motor tweezers (optional)
- Fun-tak (optional)
- peanut butter (or other nut butter if you’re allergic to peanuts)
- bird seed
- glass cup or jar
- sweet potato
- tooth picks
- thin cardboard (a cereal box would work)
- ingredients for this simple pumpkin loaf recipe
What to do:
We recommend doing the below lessons in this order to build on each skill your child will develop, but don’t feel that you *need* to do them in this order. Do what works for you and your child. If they love an activity, feel free to repeat! Not a winner? Skip and try the next thing. Have fun!
Letter of the week: P
New to the letter of the week? Start here! Next, print your letter P coloring sheet and Letter Guide. As we explore pumpkins and other fall produce, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to introduce and reinforce the sound of the letter P.
The letter P makes one sound /p/ as in pumpkin. Reinforce the sounds with our Letter of the Week Song.
Remember, the guide isn’t a worksheet! The first page is for you, the grown-up. Use it to introduce the letter name, the sounds it makes, and to demonstrate how to draw each letter. Display the Letter Guide in your school area along with the completed coloring sheet to reinforce the lesson throughout the week.
Next, use the second sheet to create a page for your child’s phonics book. Review the book a few times each week until your child has mastered these phonics.
Lesson 1
Start the week by reading From Seed to Plant. Talk to your child about how the food on their plate took a lot of time and effort to get there, even before we brought it home from the market. But just how does a fruit become a fruit? Today’s lessons will focus on the life cycle of a seed. This short video explains it in a very simple way.
Activity 1: STEM
Using this print-out, review the life cycle of a plant as you cut and paste the stages.
(+) Is your child ready for a bit more details on the subject? The above print-out also discusses photosynthesis—read through the text along with the pictures for an upgraded lesson.
Activity 2: Math
Pumpkin Seed Counting.
- Write numbers 1-12 on cupcake liners and lay them on the table or in a cupcake tray. Alternatively, print and cup out these numbers.
- Have your students point to each cupcake liner and say the number. Count the corresponding number of pumpkin seeds and place them in the cupcake liner.
(+) To upgrade this math activity, practice sums and subtraction with your seeds.
Activity 3: Arts + Crafts
Let’s create a pom pom pumpkin stamping craft! Begin by drawing out a “patch” for your child like this:
Next, give them some orange paint (or mix some up with red and yellow for a quick color lesson!) and a pom pom. You can also use a clothespin to hold the pom pom. Have them stamp an orange circle on top of each pumpkin in the patch for some fine motor skill work!
Lesson 2
To start the day, discuss how the plants we eat grow in many ways. You may want to review From Seed to Plant to illustrate this. Next, we will explore the different ways they grow and try to identify them. Talk to your child about the differences between root vegetables, fruit and vegetables that grow close to the ground or on a vine, and fruit that grows in trees.
Activity 1: Sorting
Produce sorting. If you are able to, take trip to a farmer’s market with your child and explore the fruit and vegetables. See if your child can identify whether the plant grows on a tree, on the ground on a vine, as a leafy vegetable, or beneath the soil as a root. (This might even spark their curiosity and motivate them to want to try new foods!) If you’re unable to go to a market, bring out the fruit and veggies in your home and have your child sort them on your table.
Activity 2: STEM
Seed Scavenger Hunt. Can you find seeds in your area? Get outdoors today and do a scavenger hunt with your child for seeds (like acorns and pine cones) around your house or at a nearby park. (Be sure to look for pine cones. We will need about 10 of them later in the week!) Use this print-out to identify the seeds you find.
(+) Ready for an upgrade? This is a great week to start a Nature Journal. Bring home the seeds your child found and let them practice observing and sketching them. Get more tips here for how to build on your nature journal.
Activity 3: Arts + Crafts
Color mixing pumpkin craft. If you already own a laminator, you can use a laminating pocket instead of the contact paper.
Activity 4: Sensory
Create and play with a fall harvest sensory bin.
Create a bin using:
- Popcorn kernels
- Leaves, seeds or other items found during your scavenger hunt
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Funnels
Lesson 3
Today is all about pumpkins! Start by reading From Seed to Pumpkin.
Activity 1: STEM
Parts of a Pumpkin Craft. Cut all the pieces in advance before starting the activity with your child.
- Glue the “inside of the pumpkin” cut out template onto black construction paper.
- Cut several strands of orange yarn/string about six inches long. Glue them into the two circles on the inside of the pumpkin.
- Glue pumpkin seeds around and on the orange yarn/string. Allow glue to dry.
- Cut a small rectangle about 2 inches long and 1 inch wide out of brown construction paper for the stem. Use stick glue to place it on the pumpkin.
- Cut a small leaf shape about 3 inches long and 2 inches wide out of green construction paper. Glue it near the stem.
- Glue twine or raffia to the stem to create a vine.
- Cut the “outside pumpkin” template in two. Glue each pumpkin half on top of the other pumpkin, only putting glue along the outer sides. The halves open outwards to reveal the inside of the pumpkin.
- Use stick glue to place the labels on the correct parts of the pumpkin.
(+) Upgrade this into a more hands-on project by using a real pumpkin that you can dissect while your child learns the names of all the parts.
(-) Need a modification? This Sensory Pumpkin Craft is perfect for little learners. They can tear the orange tissue paper and glue it onto a pumpkin shaped piece of construction paper.
Activity 2: Arts + Crafts + Writing
Letter P craft. Let your child use pom poms, finger paint, or dot-a-dot markers (whatever you have) to fill in the dots on the letter P and the pumpkin. Next, let them practice tracing the word pumpkin for some writing practice. (Laminate and use dry erase markers to be able to repeat this activity!)
Activity 3: Baking
Pumpkin Loaf. This kid-friendly recipe is nutritious and mixes up quickly in the blender. (Plus, it will make your house smell amazing while it’s baking.) Let you child dump the ingredients in the blender—and because it’s also vegan, they can even taste the batter!
Lesson 4
Begin by reading Hello, Harvest Moon. Then get ready to use those pine cones you found in your nature scavenger hunt! (Or on Amazon…we won’t tell. 😉)
Start by sharing a few facts about pine cones with your child—you can read a bit about them here. There’s a great picture in that post of a pine cone up close that will help your child to identify the seeds and scales of a pine cone.
Activity 1: STEM
Let’s observe and play with pine cones! Begin by taking the pine cones you collected in your scavenger hunt. Share some of these facts and details with your child:
- Pine cones are actually the flowers of pine trees.
- The heaviest pine cones in the world are from a coulter pine—they can weigh up to 10 lbs.
- The longest pine cones are those of the sugar pine tree; these cones can grow up to 24 inches or more.
- Pine cones are used for food for animals, decorations, and crafts.(source)
Next, let’s make some observations about your pine cones. If you have a kitchen scale, weigh yours. Next, measure them with a measuring tape or ruler.
Did you know you can predict the weather depending on if your pine cones are opened or closed? Pine cones open and close depending on the humidity to help seed dispersal. Inside the pine cone, there are lots of feather-light seeds. When the weather is dry, the pine cone opens up and any wind will catch the seeds and allow them to be dispersed in the air far away from the original tree. (source)
Print out this printable. Use the second page to identify the parts of your pine cone. As you label the parts, ask your child to touch and describe the texture and color of the pine cone.
Next, continue making observations as you do the following experiment.
Take two of your open pine cones, and set one to the side. Place the second pine cone in a bowl of hot water. After about an hour, check on the cone. What has happened? (It should have closed.) Use the first page of our download to draw your observations.
Activity 2: Arts + Crafts
Pine Cone Bird Feeder. We love this simple craft to use up the pine cones after the experiments are done (and provide a fun treat for the neighborhood birds).
Activity 3: Arts + Crafts
Another of our favorite fall harvest foods? Carrots! This simple carrot craft is a great way to tie in this popular vegetable and get some shape work.
Lesson 5
It’s Art Day! With all this talk of vegetables, how can we not think of farmers? Let’s look at one of the most iconic farmers in the famous painting by Grant Wood, American Gothic. Talk about the picture together. Here are some questions to discuss:
- What is the name of the tool in the man’s hand?
- What is it used for?
- What do you see in the background of the picture?
- What do the couple’s clothes tell us about them?
- Where is the man looking?
- What about the woman—what do you think is she looking at?
- What do their facial expressions tell you?
****Get expert tips on how to teach children about art here.
Activity 1: Artist Study
American Gothic parody. Bring art to life by setting up your own parody picture of the American Gothic with your child! If they want to try drawing their own, let them do that, too.
Activity 2: STEM
Sweet potato propagation experiment. Did you know you can grow your own sweet potato sprouts with just a sweet potato, water, and sunlight? This experiment takes about a month to see roots and leaves, so take pictures along the way to document the growth. Tip: Use an organic sweet potato for faster growth. 🍠
Activity 3: Fine Motor Skills
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