So much to learn about pumpkins

This is the season for pumpkins and Tara Tuttle’s kindergarten class at Pine Bush Elementary learned so much about this functional crop.

Three kindergarten kids - two boys on either end and a girl in the center, hold up paper plates with orange on them. On a desk between them is a large jack-o-lantern.

The students opened a pumpkin up and got to feel the inside of it. They learned that a pumpkin has seeds and flesh on the inside. They then made their own pumpkins out of colored paper with strings as their flesh. They cut out pumpkin seeds from paper.

“When we were all done with our investigation, we turned it into a Jack-O-Lantern,” said Ms. Tuttle. “We made a list to go along with our learning.”

A large lined piece of poster paper that says Our Pumpkin is: big, has seeds and flesh,, smooth on one side, bumpy on the other side, orange, slippery seeds, stringy and sticky flesh, has a stem, now a jack-o-lantern. There is a little orange jack-o-lantern drawn in the top right corner.

Two little girls in front and a boy in back hold up paper plates with orange on them. On a desk between them is a large jack-o-lantern.

Did you know that pumpkin is one of the most popular crops grown in the United States, with more than 1.5 billion pounds of this winter squash produced each year?

Four kindergarten students hold plates up with their drawn pumpkins on them. In the center of them is a large jack-o-lantern. Two boys hold up high their plates that they've made into pumpkins. Between them is a jack-o-lantern.

It is also one of the most versatile crops. Pumpkins are used as a food source for both humans and animals. The pulp is a great source of vitamin A and beta-carotene and is often pureed and used in soups, muffins and the ever-popular pie. The seeds are roasted and eaten as a snack, providing protein and magnesium.

Four kindergarten students hold plates that have been made into pumpkins. In the center of them is a jack-o-lantern.

Four kindergarten kids, two boys on the left and two girls on the right - hold up paper plates they made into pumpkins. In between them is a jack-o-lantern.

Of course most kids know that pumpkins are very popular around this time of year to make jack-o-lanterns. Carving pumpkins is fun and they make great Halloween decorations!

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