One of the other materials we brought into the classroom this week were pumpkins. We let the children explore with them for a few days, feeling and examining the outside. We then cut open the top and talked about what we might find inside. After we opened it up to look at, the children were able to explore what we saw. We decided that instead of cookies, dogs, or toys, that pumpkins had seeds inside.
The open pumpkins were made available for the children to explore on their own or with small groups. It was interesting to see the way each child chose to explore. Those children that were not interested in touching the pumpkin with their hands found other ways to explore. Some decided to use their nose, and some decided to use objects around the room to explore with.
This child decided to bring a tool from the toolbox over. He was not interested in touching the pumpkin with his hands but still wanted to examine what was inside. We thought this was a neat alternative to using his hands and showed his ability to problem solve by using materials around the classroom.
