If we were in the classroom right now we would be engaging with a pumpkin in a variety of ways.

 I am not an advocate of wasting food.

So below are many different ways to use the pumpkin and make them valuable learning opportunities.

(hint: store your pumpkin in a cool place to prevent it from rotting)

Paint it. Use washable paints so that you can paint it many times.

Hammer it.  Help your little one pull them out and this becomes a never-ending activity!!  Caution do not leave the wooden golf tees in the pumpkin for more than one hour.  They swell making them difficult to pull out and reuse.

Peg board.  Provide elastics and connect the pegs by stretching the elastics over them.

Light it up. Clean out the pumpkin and put a candle inside. No need to carve a design in the pumpkin as the golf tee holes have already done the job!!!

Pumpkin goo. Investigate on a tray with your child what is inside a pumpkin.

Roast pumpkin seeds. Pumpkin seeds can be roasted and are a yummy fall treat!!