Making Gardening Fun for Kids: Plant Pumpkins!

Pumpkins are such an easy seed to plant and they make for one of the most fun fruits come fall!  Over the years, my kids have enjoyed pumpkins in several ways which I want to share with you:

1. Numerous Varieties:  Pumpkins come in all sorts of varieties.  Some are tiny, like the Jack-Be-Little, which any child would enjoy picking.  There are more medium sized ones, which are better for pie pumpkins, or for just general culinary enjoyment.  And then there are the huge pumpkins, the Jack O' Lanterns, that are great for carving!  They also come in different colors and shapes.  Let the kids help decide what to plant or plant a different kind each year!

2.  Watch them grow:  Kids will love watching for the first sign of a pumpkin growing on the vines.  Then they'll love counting how many they can find.  At one point they'll ask why the pumpkins are green and anxiously watch each day to see if they're turning orange.  During that time you'll hear "Look how BIG this one is!"  Such simple joys! ;-)

3. Harvest as a family:  Harvesting the pumpkins makes for some great family time that the kids will love and never forget!  Use a wagon to help gather them all.  The kids will love pulling the wagon around!  Gathering pumpkins makes for some great photo ops too!  Be sure to take A LOT of pictures!  Arrange the pumpkins how you like and get some nice fall photos of the kids.

 

4. Decorate:  Either carve the pumpkins, decorate them with push-pins or paint them.  Any one of those ways will be a fun time with the kids.  Also, let them help use the pumpkins to decorate the house or a fall garden!  They'll love taking part in making the house and yard beautiful for fall.



 

5: Make pumpkin treats: I could go on and on about yummy pumpkin treats to make, but I'll keep it short.  Some favorites in our home are pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin coconut bread and pumpkin upside-down cake.  There are all sorts of pumpkin recipes to try, so have fun baking and let the kids help! The seeds also make for a wonderful healthy snack that I'm sure many kids would enjoy...just not mine :-/

 

This is the second installment of my "Making Gardening Fun for Kids" series.  Click here to visit my first post.