Caroline
We are continuing our pumpkin/fall theme this week in preschool and are learning about the life cycle of a pumpkin. Since the weather isn’t quite cold enough to carve pumpkins yet, we explored the inside of a pumpkin through sensory play with a Pumpkin Guts Sensory Bin.
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Supplies needed:
- plastic trick-or-treat pumpkin
- yellow yarn
- wooden beads
- pumpkin carving scoop (we used the one out of this kit)
- mini tongs
- scissors
Tutorial:
1. Mix yarn pieces with wooden beads
To make the pumpkin insides “the guts” cut your yarn into 18-24-inch sections and put them in a pile inside your pumpkin. Place your wooden beads inside the pumpkin and mix them in with your yarn.
2. Place scoop & tongs next to the pumpkin
Place a small pumpkin guts scoop and some small tongs next to your pumpkin. The tongs work great for gripping the wooden beads.
3. Prepare container for beads
I let my daughter explore the insides of her pumpkin. I decided to put a small container next to the pumpkin where she could put her wooden beads (seeds) into after finding them in the pumpkin. (For a great math extension, have your toddler/preschooler count all of her seeds after finding them in the pumpkin.)
She started out having fun using the tongs and scoop to discover the insides of the pumpkin but she eventually dug right in with her hands, just like it was a real pumpkin. I loved it! Seriously, this is such a fun mess-free way way to explore what the insides of pumpkin are like!
