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How to Eat A Pumpkin: A Lesson From a 3 Year Old

November 3, 2014 by Mama Carmody 13 Comments

How to Eat A Pumpkin: A Lesson From a 3 Year Old

How to Eat a Pumpkin
How to Eat a Pumpkin

How This All Started

From the time we took our 3 year old great-nephew to Stuckey Farm’s Harvest Festival, he has been obsessed with eating a pumpkin. It started as we were leaving the pumpkin patch. He asked if he could eat his pumpkin. We told him that he could make yummy things from his pumpkin, like pumpkin pie or pumpkin bread; but little did we know that this was NOT the end of this discussion.

Eating Raw Pumpkin?

Since he asked about eating his pumpkin a couple more times on the way home, I decided I should do a little research. I grew up with a garden in my backyard and we grew lots of fruits and vegetables. I have seen and eaten a lot of them raw, including peas and zucchini squash but I had never eaten a raw pumpkin. As a matter of fact, I had never eaten pumpkin in any form other than as some type of a dessert. I searched the internet for information and recipes. I did find out that it was safe to eat pumpkin raw but I didn’t have much luck in finding ways to cook it other than as an ingredient in a recipe.

I decided it was time for some experimenting with pumpkin. My niece, Nicole, dropped Jeremiah off with his pumpkins; the one he picked with us and one for us to carve into a jack-o-lantern. She informed me that he was still very interested and excited about eating his pumpkin. She said she even caught him, one day, sitting in the kitchen floor, on top of his jack-o-lantern pumpkin, with a fork in his hand and his small pumpkin sitting in front of him. When she asked him what he was doing he told her he was going to eat his pumpkin. She was able to convince him to wait.

How to Eat a Pumpkin: scooping out pumpkin "guts"
How to Eat a Pumpkin: scooping out pumpkin “guts”

Preparing the Pumpkin

Since Jeremiah was so interested in eating his pumpkin I didn’t want to buy canned pumpkin for our recipes. I wanted him to experience actually eating his pumpkin. So the first thing we needed to do was make pumpkin puree. I found instructions on The Pioneer Woman: Homemade Pumpkin Puree. (My daughter swears by this site.) I cut the pumpkin in half and he helped me scoop out the seeds and “guts”. We started out using spoons but found out our hands did a better job. We saved the seeds to roast later.

I had purchased an inexpensive child’s pumpkin carving set at the Dollar Tree. It had a safety knife in it. This way Jeremiah was able to help me cut up the pumpkin into pieces. It was a pretty flimsy knife. I’m going to have to find something better for him to use in the future. We got the pumpkin all cut up and onto a lined cookie sheet so we could pop it in the oven to roast.

Our Experiment with Raw Pumpkin

How to Eat a Pumpkin: eating raw pumpkin
How to Eat a Pumpkin: eating raw pumpkin

While cutting up the pumpkin for roasting we did a little experiment. We tried eating the raw pumpkin. First, we each had a taste of just the plain, raw pumpkin. We both thought it was kind of tasteless. It wasn’t bad but there wasn’t anything special about it either. I thought it resembled raw zucchini. We then tried it with some salt. It was better with salt. Our next taste test was with cinnamon and sugar. Jeremiah really liked it this way and ate several pieces. I thought the experiment was over but Jeremiah wanted to try one more thing. He wanted to try it with cinnamon, sugar and salt. I can’t say I was overly excited about this one but in the true act of experimentation, I knew we should give it a try. Neither of us was very impressed with that taste, but at least we tried it.

Jeremiah and I discussed our little experiment and our findings. He decided that his favorite way to eat raw pumpkin was with cinnamon and sugar and mine was with salt.

How to Eat a Pumpkin: fresh from the farm
How to Eat a Pumpkin: fresh from the farm

My Hypothesis

I’m still not quite sure where Jeremiah got the extreme interest in eating his pumpkin. By the time children are three years old, they usually associate a pumpkin with Halloween and carving a jack-o-lantern but Jeremiah never mentioned that to us. All he ever talked about was eating his pumpkin. After doing a lot of thinking, I came up with a theory. Whenever we go pick apples, we pick them right off the tree and even eat some while we are picking. I believe that since we went to the pumpkin patch and picked the fresh pumpkin off the vine, Jeremiah thought was should be able to just eat it like we did the apples. Of course this is just a theory because only God understands the workings of a three year old boy’s mind.

Don’t miss my next post: How to Eat a Pumpkin, Part 2

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Filed Under: Articles, Autumn/Fall Tagged With: autumn, eat a pumpkin, eating pumpkin, eating pumpkins, educational activities, fall, fun learning, jack-o-lantern, pumpkin, pumpkin puree, pumpkins

Pumpkins are Orange; and Other Learning Concepts

October 26, 2011 by Mama Carmody 22 Comments

Pumpkins are Orange; and Other Learning Concepts






I thought I would take another object of the season and give you different learning activities that you can do while you are enjoying this time of year. Yes, some of the ideas are very basic and may seem obvious but sometimes when we are busy with house cleaning, cooking, baths, homework and may even work outside the home, a little extra help coming up with fun educational activities can be quite useful.
Learning Concepts: colors, senses, math concepts: size comparison, measurements, fine motor skills, biblical, reading

Colors

A lot of learning comes from simply talking with your child and challenging them to take a look at their surroundings. When you go to pick out your pumpkins this year discuss with your child the colors they see. The obvious color they will mention, when looking at a pumpkin, is that it’s orange but there are probably other colors on it too. Some of them have green spots or possibly dirt stuck on it. What color is the stem? Is it brown or is it still green? If you are in a pumpkin patch, the vines may still be laying around. Are they still green or have they turned brown? Possibly some of the leaves on the vines have turned yellow. Just keep talking and encouraging your child to take in the sights that surround them.

Pumpkins are Orange: Learning activities that include pumpkins.
Pumpkins are Orange: Learning activities that include pumpkins.

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Arts/Crafts

Click here and you can get a template of a pumpkin to print out and have your child color or paint it. After your child has applied the color, cut out some eyes, noses and mouths. Let your child decide what kind of facial features they want to put on their pumpkin. If you have children that cover a wide age span, let the older ones cut out the facial features for the little ones.

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Size Comparison

Do you have more than one child in your house? Did you purchase more than one pumpkin for your front porch? Take the time to talk about the different sizes you have. Have your child point out the biggest one and the smallest one. Is there a middle size one? Even some of the fast food restaurants don’t realize that you can’t have a middle size if there isn’t a large and a small one.

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Biblical

There are many interesting ways to incorporate biblical lessons in the fun activities you are doing. Here is a fun one that you can do while carving your pumpkins this Halloween.

Materials

Large pumpkin and a carving knife.

Object Lesson on Prayer

{cut off top of pumpkin}
Lord, open my mind so I can learn new things about You.
{remove innards}
Remove the things in my life that don’t please You.
Forgive the wrong things I do and help me to forgive others.
{cut open eyes}
Open my eyes to see the beauty You’ve made in the world around me.
{cut out nose}
I’m sorry for the times I’ve turned my nose at the good food You provide.
{cut out mouth}
Let everything I say please You.
{light the candle}
Lord, help me show Your light to others through the things I do. Amen
Inspired by the children’s book, “The Pumpkin Patch Parable”, by Liz Curtis Higgs

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Sensory Play/Fine Motor Skills

While you are busy carving that pumpkin, let you child have some fun with sensory play. Believe it or not squishing the slimy inside of a pumpkin and picking out the slick seeds are great for their senses and fine motor skills. Why is sensory play so important to children? As Amanda Morgan explains on her blog, NotJustCute, children are wired to use their senses from the day they are born. Amanda says, “The senses are their most familiar, most basic way to explore, process, and come to understand new information.”

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Measurements

Is there any better way to learn about measurements than by cooking with your family? And just think, when you are done with this math lesson, you get to eat the results!

There are many types of math skills involved in cooking. If your children are younger, just having them count is good for them. If you need 2 cups of flour, have the child count along. If your child is older, then cooking is a good way to introduce and strengthen their skills with fractions. If you need one cup of sugar, ask your child how many half cups would equal one cup.

The following recipe is one that my niece brought home from school when she was in the second grade. It became a family standard and we call it Stephanie’s Sweet Pumpkin Bread.

Stephanie’s Sweet Pumpkin Bread

4 eggs
½ cup water
1 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup cooked pumpkin
2 tsp. nutmeg
1 ¾ cups molasses
½ tsp. ground cloves
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp. salt
1 ½ tsp. baking soda

Instructions:
1. Break the eggs into a large mixing bowl. Beat well.
2. Add the water, oil, pumpkin, molasses and brown sugar. Beat well.
3. Sift in the flour, salt, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
4. Stir all the ingredients well.
5. Grease two loaf pans. Pour the batter into the pans. Be careful not to fill them more than 2/3’s full
6. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour at 350°.
7. Let the bread cool in the pans for at least 15 minutes before removing.

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Great pumpkin books:

Speaking of great pumpkin books, how about the book about the Great Pumpkin:
“It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” by Charles M. Schulz
Reading Level: Ages 4-8
This is a wonderful book that should be shared from generation to generation.

Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White
Reading Level: Ages 4-8
Rebecca Estelle hates pumpkins because she had to eat tons of pumpkins when she was young. She doesn’t even want to look at a pumpkin. So how does she end up with a yard full of pumpkins and what does she do with them? Read this fun little book and find out.

Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell
Reading Level: Ages 4-8
This is a light-hearted look at the life cycle of a pumpkin named Jack. The plant’s cycle throughout the seasons is told in a simple, easy to understand, way.

Dr. Pompo’s Nose by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers
Reading Level: Ages 4-8
This is one of my favorite pumpkin books. I read this to my preschool classes every year and they loved it. It is written in rhyme, which I love. The way Freymann and Elffers carve facial features into the pumpkins, to give them personality, is absolutely adorable. Your child will enjoy helping Dr. Pompo figure out what the lost stem might actually be.

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How to Eat a Pumpkin : A Lesson From a 3 Year Old

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Filed Under: Autumn/Fall, Learning Activities Tagged With: autumn, children, fall, learn, learning, learning concepts, orange, pumpkin prayer, pumpkins

Stuckey Farm’s Harvest Festival Review

October 8, 2014 by Mama Carmody 3 Comments

Stuckey Farm’s Harvest Festival Review





Are you looking for some fun fall activities; apple picking, some interactive fun, a wagon ride or a pumpkin patch? How about all of that in one place? You will want to check out Stuckey Farm’s Harvest Festival.

Stuckey Farm’s Harvest Festival Collage

Stuckey Farm has been one of my favorite apple orchards for many years. I first started going there on field trips with preschool classes. My husband loves it because he can pick his favorite apple there; the McIntosh.

This is Stuckey’s second year of celebrating fall with a Harvest Festival. We missed it last year but are really glad that we were able to attend this time. With our 3 year old great-nephew in tow, we headed off to the festival. The weather conditions weren’t the best. As you can tell from this picture it was a “little” windy, which made it very cold (therefore the expression on our great-nephew’s face).

Stuckey Farm’s Harvest Festival: Riding the Wagaon

We decided to grab a couple of bags for apple picking. Then we climbed onto the wagon, looking forward to a ride around the orchard. As we sat waiting, something to the left of us caught my eye. It was a tree with moving eyes. The tractor driver told us it was a talking tree, and we had time to go check it out before the wagon needed to leave. We went to investigate. The driver wasn’t kidding. It was definitely a talking tree. It asked Jeremiah his name and carried on a conversation with him. Jeremiah was very impressed and quite fond of the tree. As a matter of fact, he liked the tree so much we had to go back two more times.

Stuckey Farm’s Harvest Festival: Riding the Wagaon

We went back and hopped onto the wagon for a ride around the orchard. On our ride we saw the fun play area, Adventure Acres, and a pumpkin patch. I had no intentions of going to the pumpkin patch because it had rained the night before, but once Jeremiah saw it he said he wanted to go. I told him we would wait until after we picked the apples to see how he felt, because he was pretty cold. He looked up at me and said, in his sweet 3 year old voice, “I’s okay now.” Of course, he was still shivering but I realized he really wanted to go to the pumpkin patch.

Stuckey Farm’s Harvest Festival: Adventure Acres

Once we dismounted from the wagon, we walked into the orchard to pick our apples. I was after Red Delicious and Jonathan’s this day. I love watching my husband and great-nephew interact as they pick apples.

Stuckey Farm’s Harvest Festival: Picking apples

Once the bag was full, Jeremiah wanted to carry it. He assured us he was strong enough. My husband gave him the bag and he made it several steps before he decided to give it back to Uncle Pat.

Stuckey Farm’s Harvest Festival: Carrying Apples

After both bags were full, I asked Jeremiah if he wanted to go play or was he too cold and wanted to go home. I bet you will never guess what he wanted to do. My husband took the apples back to the car while Jeremiah and I warmed ourselves in the store. There are so many wonderful things to look at and purchase. We were able to watch some ladies make apple cider donuts (of which we bought a half dozen). They were delicious. There was a large variety of jams, jellies and honey. We even watched the bees for a while.

Stuckey Farm’s Harvest Festival: Inside the store

Then we headed out to the play area. We were told that everything was adult friendly so one (or both) of us could ride with Jeremiah. There was a huge slide, decorated like a caterpillar. Jeremiah and my husband both went down it.

Stuckey Farm’s Harvest Festival: 35 ft Tube Slide

Jeremiah and Uncle Pat raced on some pedal carts. Big thanks go out to the young man that pushed Jeremiah around the track. His little legs weren’t long enough to reach the pedals but the young man offered to push him. Jeremiah had a blast racing his Uncle.

Stuckey Farm’s Harvest Festival: Pedal Cars

Next, the guys rode the barrel train which is pulled by a tractor. The cars are decorated to look like farm animals. They received a nice long ride around the outside edge of Adventure Acres.

Stuckey Farm’s Harvest Festival: Barrel Train

There were a couple of great climbing areas; some old tractor tires and some bales of hay stacked to look like a tractor.

Stuckey Farm’s Harvest Festival: Climbing

There were several other fun activities that we didn’t get to. There was an electronically timed maze game, for the kids, called Punchin’ Pumpkins.

Stuckey Farm’s Harvest Festival: Punchin’ Pumpkins

There was also a large corn maze, which I wanted nothing to do with. I am no good with directions and get turned around easily. Associated with the maze is a fun “Secret Agent” challenge. If you kids are a little older, than Jeremiah, they would really enjoy it. Here is an entertaining video that explains more about the challenge. It’s worth watching even if you don’t plan on going through the corn maze.

Last but definitely not least, we headed to the pumpkin patch. I’m really glad we didn’t skip that part of the trip. The ground was packed fairly hard so we didn’t have a lot of mud to contend with. I enjoyed watching Jeremiah’s reaction to the vines. He was quite interested in the vines and what they were used for. My husband explained that the leaves and vines help bring food to the pumpkins so they can grow.

Stuckey Farm’s Harvest Festival: Learning about Pumpkin Vines

Jeremiah wanted a “big, huge” pumpkin but we told him that he would have to carry it. He ended up choosing an adorable little one.

Stuckey Farm’s Harvest Festival: Pumpkin Patch

There were still plenty of pumpkins throughout the large patch. You won’t want to miss out on that part of the trip.

Stuckey Farm’s Harvest Festival: Pumpkin Patch

Stuckey Farm is located just north of Indianapolis, in Sheridan, Indiana. It sits right between Sheridan, Westfield and the Indianapolis Executive Airport. The Harvest Festival goes through October 26th. The cost to enter the festival is just $5 per person. That price includes all the rides and activities at Adventure Acres. You will want to bring some extra money for warm apple cider donuts and other yummy treats. Don’t forget you can also pick apples and pumpkins for all your special fall activities. If you aren’t interested in attending the festival, but still want your apples and pumpkins from Stuckey’s, then come on a weekday or during their special Saturday picking times. The special Saturday times are between 7:00am – 10:00am and 5:30pm – 8:00pm.

Don’t forget to stop and say good-bye to the talking tree. You might want to show off the cool pumpkin you picked.

Stuckey Farm’s Harvest Festival: The Talking Tree
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Filed Under: Attractions and Events, Reviews Tagged With: apple orchard, autumn, fall, fall festival, festival, Harvest Festival, pumpkin patch, pumpkins, Stuckey Farm, Stuckey Farm's Harvest Festival

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