Our Pumpkin Patch Play

We have a field trip planned to the real pumpkin patch this week so in preparation for it we set up a pretend pumpkin patch.  I decided to only use real pumpkins this year so the children could have authentic experiences with the texture and weight of each one.
  

The children have been buying and selling pumpkins to each other and to the grown ups.  Taking on the roles of seller and buyer, sometimes at the same time.

         
Their number play has included money, pricing, weighing and using the cash register.
 As well as recognizing the numerals on the cash machine.


Harvesting the pumpkins and restocking is a job that needs to be done at the
pumpkin patch before the next customers arrives.

 
Having paper and pencil available allows a child to document her own learning. 
She is drawing a picture of her pumpkin.  It has become a sign on the side of the
shelf.
             
It also helps put her learning in to practice.  She’s printing numbers and
letters after using the cash register.

     
And keeping lists, just like they see adults do.

Count and Collect Nature

    
Last week’s nature adventure involved rolling a die and a mystery bag.

      
The children took turns rolling a big yellow die that had numerals on it.
   
Then another child reached into a bag and picked an item that I had
collected from the woods earlier in the morning.

    
The children then went on a search for that item, counting and
collecting enough to match the number that was rolled.

     
We continued rolling, counting and collecting till we found all the
items from the mystery bag.


Their bags were full so I collected them and returned to school
     
              to let everything dry out.

    
The next morning I set up the art table with the materials and
Lois Ehlert’s book “Leaf Man”.

    
With a few extra pieces they created creatures and collages.

September Play Trays

     
                     Locks and keys

 
Feed the birds – paper tube birds, sunflower seeds and tweezers.


            Weaving – wire rack and ribbons.


                  Scale and animals.


       
Acrylic coloured acorns, tongs, baskets and squirrels
– sorting, patterning and sharing.


       
Leaf cards and acrylic leaves to match, count and take away.

Sticky Autumn Tree

    
I cut a leafless tree from tissue paper and taped it to a white board,
hanging on the back of a shelf that faces the entrance of our room. 
Then I attached a large sheet of sticky paper (contact paper), with the
sticky side facing out, over top of it.  Placed a basket of silk leaves
in front.
    
It wasn’t as attractive to the children as I hoped it would be.  A few
played with it, placing the leaves here and there.  But generally it
was left alone.
 
On the positive side it did make a pretty autumn picture for our room.

Autumn Leaves

 We collected leaves and added them to the art table
          with paints and paper.
  
I chose paints to match the colours of leaves in the
autumn.  And supplied smaller brushes for more
delicate paint strokes.  With simple instructions to
paint a leaf and print a leaf and we were ready to go.

The children figured out how to hold the leaf with
one hand while they painted with the other so it
          didn’t slip around. 

Some children did one colour per leaf, others did
            many colours.
 
We added them to our Autumn Tree, Autumn Leaves
           art gallery.

More Autumn Trees

 
At the art easel I noticed children painting trees.  Long strokes with
shorter strokes out to the side.  Dots and spots for the leaves.

      
I found small and large maple leaf cookie cutters at the Dollar store
so decided to use them at the art table.

The children were encouraged to rip brown paper to  use for the tree
trunk then stamped the leaves using the cookie cutters.

               Awesome Autumn

Others decided to make pictures of leaves on the ground; lots and
                 lots of leaves.
  
   
We now have an Autumn Tree, Autumn Leaf gallery wall to show
what we've noticed about leaves.