Harvest, Pumpkins and Leaves.....Oh My!

For the month of October we added a study of all things fall, which included pumpkins, leaves, and harvest time. Here is a sample of our activities this month.

Measuring heights of various pumpkins:


Throughout the month we have been collecting seeds to supplement our study of this harvest season. The kids had a blast with this, comparing the seeds various colors and sizes.

Since our weather has been nice, we have been taking lots of nature walks. On occasion the boys ask to bring their cameras so they can document aspect of nature and fall they encounter.












We collected leaves on our nature walks and then sorted them by color. Next we created color graphs to show our collection of leaves.





Of course, after our nature walks we practiced our leaf rubbings!




One very fun experiment we did this month was to study the different pigments inside of leaves. To do this experiment you crush green leaves with some sand (or salt) and rubbing alcohol.

Then we poured the crushed leaves and alcohol through a sieve.


Next, we poured the green alcohol into a jar and placed a rolled up piece of paper in the jar to soak overnight.


The pigments separate and travel at different speeds. The next morning we were able to see all the different colors that are actually hidden behind the green pigment in leaves!

We hypothesized about pumpkins sinking or floating, and then we tested it out. (P.S They float in case you did not know! Even the huge ones!)


We measured the circumference of different pumpkins with yarn.





Of course we had our pumpkin spice play dough for the month!


We tried two different fall foods this month. We made butternut squash and apple soup. We also bought and tried a pomegranate!




We practiced making patterns with marshmallow creme pumpkins and candy corns. (This was a favorite activity! :))



We measured the weight of pumpkins and other fall items, and compared them to each other.




We also had lots of fun printable sheets for coloring, math and listening skills.







Our Sunday school class had a social event this month and it was the first opportunity Daddy had to teach Luke and Ben how to roast marshmallows! (I know this is not really school, but it was a fun fall memory with Daddy. In fact that night when the boys were praying at bedtime, Ben prayed, "Dear Jesus, thank you for letting me burn marshmallows with my Daddy.")




Here is a list of our favorite books for this month's unit study on fall/harvest/leaves/pumpkins:

Leaf Man, Lois Ehlert
Fletcher and the Falling Leaves, Julia Rawlinson
Why Do Leaves Change Color, Betsy Maestro
The Pumpkin Book, Gail Gibbons
Leaves, David Ezra Stein

Of course we also had to play in the leaves. Since we don't have any trees in our backyard we had to play in the leaves on our nature walks!






Homeschool joy of the month: playing in leaves with your siblings while doing school!