Easy Ways to Learn with Apples and Pumpkins

There are so many crafts and activities you can do with apples and pumpkins, and it’s actually really simple to incorporate them into learning activities. I was reminded of this when looking at the Halloween STEM activities, and by this post on measuring the circumference of a pumpkin from Gift of Curiosity.

Of course you could do that with an apple, too, though it is more dramatic if you have a variety of pumpkins to measure.

And you don’t have to stop with circumference. You can measure how tall a pumpkin or apple is, how much they weigh. Hypothesize whether bigger pumpkins or apples will weigh more and experiment.

Making pumpkins and apples float is always fun, and away from science and math you can always draw pumpkins, paint on pumpkins, make apple stamps, write about your produce…there are just so many great ideas!

How do you use pumpkins and apples to learn? I’d love to hear your ideas.

[Photo: Gift of Curiosity.] Looking for more resources? Check out these board games for learning Math and Multiplication?

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Apple Sensory Play Ideas

The celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is important throughout Mexico and other parts of the world. Her feast day is Dec. 12, and the celebrations honoring her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531 begin a few days before that.

Whether you celebrate yourself or just want to share about the celebration at home or in your classroom, Las Mañanitas: The Beautiful Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a good place to start. The book, by Ernesto Joel Vega Rosales and Jeanette Gonzalez Seneviratne, with illustrations by Dana Sanmar, tells the story of a family’s celebration of the feast day in both English and Spanish.

They prepare with a novena, which is nine days of prayers and preparations. The children, Lucia and Pablo, are given special outfits made by their grandmother that look like what Juan Diego might have worn when he saw Our Lady. The book describes the prayers that are made each day, such as a prayer for respect for life, for families and for the indigenous people of the Americas, to name a few.

As told in the book, Juan Diego was a native Mexican born near modern day Mexico City. His given name was Cuaauhtlatoatzin, which means “He who speaks like an eagle.” When he converted to Christianity his name was changed to Juan Diego, and as he walked to church he passed a hill called Tepeyac. One day he heard the birds singing especially beautifully and a voice called him to go to the top of the hill.

There he saw Our Lady of Guadalupe, who asked him to tell the bishop she wanted a chapel built in her name at the foot of the hill. The bishop asked for a sign that Juan Diego really saw her, and later she had him collect flowers that she blessed and take them to the bishop. When Juan Diego dropped the flowers, an image of Our Lady could be seen on his cloak, which is still on display in her basilica to this day.

The feast day is celebrated as mañanitas, which includes singing, indigenous music and dancing, and children presenting flowers to Our Lady. Juan Diego is remembered today as being humble, brave and faithful, and was the first indigenous American made a saint.

The book is colorful and tells the story in a clear way, and it’s fun to have it both in English and Spanish if you teach Spanish or speak Spanish at home or in the classroom. It’s a great way to learn the basics of the celebration and the story of Juan Diego and why he is still remembered today.

About the book: 40 pages, paperback, published 2024 by Loyola Press. Suggested retail price $14.99.

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