The Life Cycle of a Pumpkin with Free Science Journal

One of my favorite Halloween books is Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell.

In this story, a little boy throws his old jack-o-lantern into his garden and watches it rot.  He is surprised to find new pumpkin plants sprouting from the rotten shell.  For years, I would leave an old jack-o-lantern out so that we could watch it rot.  It was pretty fun.  Last year, I saw an idea on pinterest where the pumpkin is filled with soil so that the seeds can sprout.  We still have all the fun of watching the pumpkin rot but now we also get to watch the seeds sprout.  The kids LOVE it!

 


To get started, all you need is a pumpkin and a bag of soil.  Cut the top off the pumpkin and fill that baby up.  Put the pumpkin in a clear plastic tote.  I look for something that can be tossed because after weeks of rotten pumpkin, I don't want to clean it.  Water the seeds and watch.  I created some journals for my kids to record the changes we see.  We are just starting them, but my students were SO excited!   Click here to print your own Pumpkin Science Journals.  Here are the pages:

Cover

Inside pages.  I put 6 two-sided sheets in each journal.

Last page - reviewing what we learned from the project.
Until next time-

2 comments

  1. I've done the pumpkin science experiment for the last couple of years, but have never paired it with this book! Thanks for the suggestion and the science journal pages. I've added the kindle version to our class iPads and can't wait to add this to our "Pumpkin Day"! Especially with Halloween being the same day! ♬Mrs. Samuelson's Swamp Frogs

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  2. I love this idea and have just ordered a copy from Amazon. Now to find our special pumpkin. Thanks for the great ideas.

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