With fall comes pumpkins, apples, leaves changing colors, and cooler weather!  Pumpkins offer a great way to incorporate hands-on learning.  Have fun using these seasonal items that are found abundantly this time of year.

Sprouting Pumpkin Seeds: Give each Cloverbud a clear cup, paper towel, cotton ball, craft stick and 4 pumpkin seeds.  Tear 3-inch-wide strips from the paper towel and place around the inside of the cup. Fill the center of the cup with cotton balls.  Help the Cloverbuds dampen the cotton balls by setting the cup under a dripping faucet. The cotton will then get the paper towel wet too.  No water should drip to the bottom of the cup. Put the pumpkin seeds between the cup and the paper towel. Place on a sunny windowsill.

Pumpkin Sink or Float: Gather 3 pumpkins.  Place a tub of water that is deep enough for pumpkins to float without touching the bottom. Get a large pumpkin, small pumpkin, and then a pumpkin with the seeds removed.  Let the Cloverbuds hold the pumpkins and guess what they think will happen when they place the pumpkins in the water. Then, test the pumpkins.

Pumpkin Pie in a Bag: Not only are pumpkins perfect for the fall but they have many health benefits too.  Pumpkins are rich in vitamins and minerals and low in calories.  You can eat fresh or canned pumpkins.  Try pumpkin pie in a bag.  Cloverbuds love this! Setting up an assembly line makes it fun and easy to make. Click here for a list of ingredients and directions.

Tic-Tac-Toe: Using small pumpkins/gourds, have at least four of these of two different colors (orange and white for example).  Draw a tic-tac-toe board.  Give the Cloverbuds the pumpkins to use for their pieces of the game.

Guess the weight of the pumpkin: Have a variety of pumpkins for youth to see.  Members can vote on how much each pumpkin weighs.

Pumpkin ring toss: Use a hula hoop and place pumpkins around.  Have the Cloverbuds throw the hula hoop to see if they can get it on the pumpkin.

Pumpkin Mini Golf: Carve some pumpkins and have mini golf equipment.  The Cloverbuds can try to hit the ball into the pumpkin.

Have fun with your Cloverbuds this fall!

Resources
Pumpkins…Not Just for Halloween-agclassroom.org/matrix/lessons/131/
National 4-H Council. 2006. After School Agriculture: Acres of Adventure. shop4-h.org/collections/afterschool-agriculture-acres-of-adventure-series.

Images from stock.adobe.com