On Thursday September 27 a group of children made a trip to Farm Boy to purchase some pumpkins and gourds for the childcare. The staff and children talked about bringing the wagon along because they knew the pumpkins were going to be very heavy and they wanted to fill up the wagon with as many as they could. The children walked hand and hand and were excited for their adventure.

When the children arrived at Farm Boy, they immediately noticed all the pumpkins displayed on the shelf. They were feeling each one and noticed how hard and big they were. The children had the opportunity to pick and choose which pumpkin they wanted to bring back to the childcare. They used both hands to grasp the pumpkins in their hands while indicating how heavy the pumpkins were by their facial and verbal expressions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the children collected all the pumpkins to purchase they went inside the store to complete the transaction. As the children walked through the store, they noticed a stuffed monkey hanging from the ceiling. This was something they had to take a closer look at. The children were pointing to the monkey, leading the staff towards the area. The children appeared to be amazed and excited to have encounter this stuffed monkey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After saying good bye to the monkey the group went to the cashier where they paid for all the pumpkins they picked. The wagon was filled with many different kinds of pumpkins, different colours and shapes. When they arrived back to the childcare, the pumpkins were distributed to the classrooms.

“Opportunities to engage with people, places, and the natural world in the local environment help children, families, educators, and communities build connections, learn and discover, and make contributions to the world around them. It fosters a sense of belonging to the local community, the natural environment, and the larger universe of living things. As well, communities benefit from the rich experiences they have in learning about, with, and from children.” (HDLH 2014, pg. 19).

 

What’s Next?

The children have come up with a few ideas of what to do with the pumpkins. The ideas are the following:

“Carve the pumpkin”

“Colour on the pumpkin”

“Paint the pumpkin”

“Eat the pumpkin”

“Make a face on the pumpkin”