Everything Pumpkin

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With the arrival of Autumn, many yearn for pumpkin spice, visiting pumpkin patches, pumpkin pie, pumpkin decor, and everything else pumpkin. But why the pumpkin? After all, wouldn’t life be just as "gourd" if this season celebrated the cucumber or the cantaloupe? Perhaps not.

Pumpkins can be grown all over the world except for Antarctica. So while they may be native to the Southern United States and Central America, you can find them in gardens all over—yet Morton, Illinois is considered the “pumpkin capital” of the world because it is home to the Libby's corporation, whose canned pumpkin puree has become a part of the preparation for many American families’ Thanksgiving meals. With pumpkins being a winter squash, it makes sense that they are popular during the autumn season.

Pumpkins are interesting in that most parts of the plant are edible such as the shell, the seeds, the leaves, and even the flowers. Green ones can be eaten like summer squash while ones that are ripe can be used not only for pies but also soups. How do you like to enjoy pumpkins? It is amazing that they can be baked, roasted, steamed, or boiled or included in part of another dish. Personally, I enjoy pumpkin seeds. They are a lovely treat.

The pumpkin is also part of American folklore as it figures in the story of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. If you or your homeschooled children wish to learn more about American folklore, you might want to take a look at the American Folklore course at SchoolhouseTeachers.com. While learning about the Northeast, your middle school or high school children will learn more about legends and spooky folktales in lessons six through eight. In The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the headless horseman is said to have a pumpkin atop his shoulders instead of his head. Whether Irving pulled this idea from American tales or European folklore, it is interesting to note that the pumpkin plays a role in this American classic.

For many, pumpkins make them think of jack o'lanterns and decorating for Halloween. The history of jack o'lanterns goes back to Ireland, where people would carve turnips and potatoes to scare away evil spirits. Today, people carve a variety of designs into pumpkins to decorate for the season including individuals from favorite movies. So, not everything relating to jack o'lanterns today is about the scare.

Do pumpkins play a role in your celebration of Autumn? Do you enjoy a hot cup of tea or coffee flavored with pumpkin spice?

Family Fun: Fall Crafts and Activities

The Autumn season is upon us...even if the official start of Fall isn't until later in September. Seasonal items are appearing on the shelves in stores to help us celebrate Autumn and Halloween. If you are looking for sunscreen or pool towels for a late holiday, you may be hard-pressed to find them in stores.

Over the years we have shared our fall crafts and activities at A Mom's Quest to Teach. In order to help find those posts, I am sharing them again in one convenient place – right here!

Fall Crafts 

Paper Plate Scarecrow 

Corn Sun Catchers 

Owl Puppet Craft 

Pumpkin Coffee Filter Sun Catchers 

Corn Shaker 

Fall Activities 

Pumpkin Picking 

I linked up with Timberdoodle's Hello, Fall! Blog Hop. Please visit the other posts for some fun fall ideas!

Trips: Pumpkin Picking

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We returned to Creamy Acres Farm for Pumpkin Picking in October 2017.  The farm has the typical activities of a tractor ride to the pumpkin patch and a corn maze for their Fall Fest but also includes many other fun activities for those who purchase access to the Field of Fun. 

On the tractor ride to the pumpkin patch you are driven by the cows, silo, Nights of Terrors fields for Zombie Paintball and cornfields. 

Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch 

The corn maze had a super hero theme with individuals like Batman, Spider-Man, and Wonder Woman. At the exit of the maze, all the children received a prize!

After picking out your pumpkins in the pumpkin patch, you can visit the goats or get back onto the tractor to go to the Field of Fun or return to the Store and parking lot area.

The activities at the Field of Fun included a Cow Train, Tire Mountain, Spooky Straw Maze, Corn Pit, Pumpkin Painting, Face Painting, Bouncy Ball Fun, Pedal Karts, and other games. 

Spooky Straw Maze 

My son said he liked the Cow Train the best while my daughter did not want to leave the Corn Pit.

Corn Pit

Everything at the Field of Fun is an enclosed area, which definitely provides a sense of safety because as a parent you know your little one isn't going to keep running the entire length of the farm fields.

Pedal Karts, Cow Train and Pumpkin Painting

One of the things added this year was the Pumpkin Painting which both our children enjoyed.  All individuals who paid for the tractor ride to the pumpkin patch and the Field of Fun received a free small pumpkin.  My son painted a green and yellow kitty cat. My daughter had a face painted on her pumpkin, but she ultimately painted the entire pumpkin yellow.  

The day was beautiful and all the employees are very helpful.  We can't wait till next year!

We own It's Pumpkin Day, Mouse! and love it.

Fall Crafts: Pumpkin Coffee Filter Sun Catchers

This post contains affiliate links. For more information please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page. Thank you.

We went pumpkin picking last weekend and both littles are very interested in all things pumpkin right now.  When I saw this Pumpkin Sun-Catcher craft, I knew that we had to try it since I like doing crafts with coffee filters. 

My three year old and my 18 month old colored the coffee filters using all the markers in the pack.  I tried to get my three year old to color a little more than just the center but he was having too much fun mixing colors. 

I sprayed the coffee filters with water and turned them around so that the marker colors would run and create interesting color patterns. 

Since the weather is still rather nice, I took them outside to dry on our porch.  

I don't recommend leaving them to dry on a table with a design (like our metal one) because the coffee filters picked up the pattern of the table.  And remember that the markers may bleed onto whatever surface you leave them on, so be mindful of stains. 

Since my three year old is still working on his scissor skills, I helped cut out different shapes using one of his favorite Halloween books (It's Pumpkin Day, Mouse!)  to help us.  

We completed them with a little bit of green ribbon re-purposed from a birthday gift and construction paper for the stems. 

 

If you wish, you could laminate them to help preserve them for future years. 

Our completed projects hanging in the kitchen window.