All About Pumpkins for Preschoolers | Learning About Pumpkins

Let's learn about the life cycle of a pumpkin. Did you know that the life cycle of a pumpkin has five stages? The seed, the sprout, the flowering vine, the green pumpkin, and then finally the orange pumpkin, which we all love to pick, cook, and eat. What comes first in the life cycle of a pumpkin?

Let's find out the first stage of a life cycle. A pumpkin is a seed that must be planted in the soil to grow a new pumpkin. It takes 10 days for a pumpkin seed to germinate or sprout. The amount of seeds a pumpkin has depends on its size.

 

The larger the pumpkin, the more seeds it will have. Let's learn about the next stage in the life cycle of a pumpkin. The second stage is sprouting. Two small leaf-shaped growths appear first and break through the soil; these are called the Sprouts. True leaves appear about 1 week after the sprout breaks through the soil. What comes next? The third stage in a pumpkin's life is the flowering. Vine pumpkin vines can grow up to 6 in each day. The flowers appear on the vines about halfway through the growing season. Pumpkin vines are covered with male and female

The male and female flowers pollinate to form fruit. What happens next in the life cycle of the pumpkin? Oh, it's a green pumpkin. The fourth stage in the life cycle is the green pumpkin. Once pollination occurs, the female Blossom or flower closes, and a small green fruit will appear on the base of the flowers; this fruit will become a pumpkin. What happens next in the life cycle of a pumpkin It's the fifth stage, and we have a mature pumpkin, which is the final stage of a pumpkin's life. This is the orange pumpkin that we know and love; it takes

45 to 55 days for a pumpkin to mature. After pollination during the last few weeks of the growing season, the pumpkin reaches its final size and turns orange. Once the pumpkin's fine turns brown, it's time to harvest. Now it's time for a pumpkin fun fact. Did you know that pumpkins are planted in May or June so they will be ready by Fall so we can carve our pumpkins and put them in our special baked goods? Now it's time to learn about the parts of a pumpkin. Let's go. Which part of the pumpkin do you think this is? It's the

Stem What about this part of the pumpkin? What is on the outside? This is called the pumpkin skin. Did you get it right? What is this part of the pumpkin called? I bet you know this one. These are the seeds. Good job  What part of the pumpkin is the arrow pointing to? It's the leaf you got it now. Which part of the pumpkin is this? Don't get tricked.

This is called the pulp. Great job  How many did you get right now? Turn to your neighbor and tell them one fact about pumpkins that you learned to freeze now turn to your other neighbor and tell them one way that you will use pumpkins.