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?

A few years ago I shared some pumpkin themed sensory activities for kids, but I wanted to get a little more general and do some fall sensory ideas that can take you from Halloween al the way to Thanksgiving.

Playdough is a classic sensory activity, especially if kids can help make it, too. These playdough recipes from The Montessori Twin Mama are fall colored and scented with cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and apple pie spice (I honestly don’t know what the difference is!). Or try this fun maple playdough from Happy Toddler Playtime.

Throw together some cookie cutters, googly eyes and other fun things to make an easy fall playdough tray (similar to what I did on this Halloween playdough activity).

How about some fall themed slime? Natural Beach Living gave a basic slime recipe a fall twist with food coloring and glitter. Leaf shaped sequins make it even more fun. Little Bins for Little Hands also has a cinnamon slime, which is great for fall but can also carry you all the way through Christmas.

Raising Wild Things Sensory has some great easy to make fall themed sensory bottles, which you can add fall things to, or pompoms or whatever kind of I spy items you might want to include. They also have a fun apple moon sand sensory bin that has me wondering if you could add something scented to moon sand (I always hated the smell!).

And of course there are all kinds of sensory bins you can make for fall. I like this apple picking one from Happy Toddler Playtime that uses fake leaves and little apple toys. It has the added challenge of trying to pick the apples up through a mesh of branches — kind of like a low-tech game of Operation!

You can also do a short-lived sensory bin with real leaves, or use any kind of beans, brown rice, oats or lentils to make your base. Some more great ideas can be found at Fab Everyday. Their post includes some specific Halloween and Thanksgiving themed sensory bins, too.

Have you read?

Leave a Reply