Pumpkins Thematic Unit
Pumpkins seem to fascinate children, whether they are growing in a field or carved as a jack-o-lantern on the front porch. This thematic teaching unit is all about pumpkins from growing them and eating them to the history and symbols associated with them. A variety of learning activities are given that will develop skills in every discipline, including Library Information skills. The children will enjoy going orange and learn a lot, too.
Why Teach About Pumpkins?
Pumpkins are native to the American continent and were first cultivated by Native Americans over 5000 years ago, long before Columbus and the European colonists arrived. To the Native Americans in the eastern United States, pumpkins almost equaled corn and beans in food importance. All parts of the pumpkin were used. The "flesh" was baked or boiled and the seeds were ground into meal for gruel or bread. They have been used for food, as symbols and even toys since before recorded history.
Pumpkins and other members of the Cucurbit or gourd family are delicious and nutritious and are relatively easy to grow. The European settlers, especially the Irish, helped to make this bright orange fruit popular during Halloween, when they adapted the tale of Stingy Jack and his turnip to use a pumpkin instead of a turnip and the jack-o-lantern was born.
Some other reasons to study pumpkins are because:
- the season makes pumpkins readily available.
- the children are already interested in pumpkins because of jack-o-lanterns, so we are grasping a teachable moment.
- third graders can learn about plant reproduction and growing conditions.
Grade Level and Time Frame: This unit is designed for third grade and will take about two weeks to complete.
Catch the Moment
If it's pumpkin picking time, why not take advantage of a teachable moment and study those big, orange fruits? Here are some of my ideas to sneak in those skills while doing something that's fun!
In Search of the Perfect Pumpkin
In Search of the Perfect Pumpkin
Amazon Price: $7.95 (as of 11/28/2009)![]()
An interesting and humorous book. Each page of the search has a pumpkin fact. The book covers the gambit from the field to the pie.
Language Arts
- demonstrate creative writing skills.
- demonstrate knowledge and appreciation of folklore.
- create an alliteration.
Activities
- The children can create alliterations using the letter "P". Use the tongue twister "Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers" as an example. They can locate words beginning with "P" in the dictionary.
- A listening center can be stocked with stories and folklore dealing with squash and pumpkins. Short stories can be found in Pellowski's, Hidden Stories in Plants.
- Creative writing activity: "Pumpkins can be used in many ways. Write about an unusual pumpkin recipe or an unusual way to use pumpkins."
- Small groups can visit the library to research the origin of the jack-o-lantern and also the origin and cultivation of the pumpkin.
Pumpkin Cook Books
The Pumpkin Book
The Pumpkin Book
Amazon Price: $6.95 (as of 11/27/2009)![]()
Everything you want to know about pumpkins: types, seeds, how to grow, parts of the plant, record pumpkins, history, carving a pumpkin and drying pumpkin seeds.
Science
- explain how flowering plants reproduce.
- recognize good growing conditions for plants.
- identify vegetables grown in truck farms.
Activities
- The students can go on a field trip to a truck farm to see first hand the cultivation and growing stages of vegetables.
- Pumpkins are very high in Beta Carotene. A small group can research other vegetables and plants that are in the same food group and are high in Beta Carotene.
- Children can plant a pumpkin seed in a small pot. Each child will record the plant's growth rate and characteristics on a time line.
- Small groups can visit the library to research the reproduction of flowering plants, and especially the pumpkin and squash family.
Growing Pumpkins
Pumpkin Facts on Wiki
Pumpkin is a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae (which also includes gourds).Integrated Taxonomic Information System It is a common name of or can refer to cultivars of any one of the species Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita mixta, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata. They are typically orange or yellow and have many creases running from the stem to the bottom. They have a thick shell on the outside, with seeds and pulp on the inside.
Current Weather for Providence, Rhode Island
Near the Home of the 2007 World Record Giant Pumpkin
Current weather conditions in East Providence, RI (02914)
Local Pollen Reports
46°F (Feels like 38°F)
Last update: 11/28/09 7:51 AM EST
Humidity: 68%Visibility: 10.0 mi
Dew Point: 36°F
UV Index: 0 (Lawn and Garden Weather)
Barometer: 29.27in rising
Moon: Rush Hour Traffic
Wind: 20mph From: Airport Conditions

Today
Mostly Cloudy
High: 50°F
Low: 35°F
Sunrise: 6:50 AM
Sunset: 4:16 PM

Sunday
Nov 29
AM Showers / Wind
High: 54°F
Low: 42°F
Sunrise: 6:51 AM
Sunset: 4:16 PM

Monday
Nov 30
Mostly Sunny
High: 52°F
Low: 32°F
Sunrise: 6:52 AM
Sunset: 4:16 PM

Tuesday
Dec 1
Showers
High: 44°F
Low: 35°F
Sunrise: 6:54 AM
Sunset: 4:15 PM
Pumpkin, Pumpkin
The Pumpkin That Grew
by M. Lucille Ford
And all the summer through
It stayed upon a big green vine,
And grew, and grew, and grew!
It grew from being small and green
To being big and yellow
And then it said unto itself,
"Now I'm a handsome fellow!"
And then one day it grew a mouth,
A nose, and two big eyes!
And so that pumpkin grew into
A jack-o'-lantern wise!
Cut out some pumpkin shapes and vines from flannel and this poem makes a cute and educational (growth of a pumpkin) flannel board story for younger children.
Pumpkin Circle
Math
- estimate circumference and weight.
- measure circumference and weight.
- chart and compare weight and circumference
- measure ingredients for cooking.
Activities
- The children can do estimation activities with a pumpkin. Estimations can be made of the weight, circumference, and number of seeds. Then the actual measurements can be taken and compared when the jack-o-lantern is cut. The person with the closest estimate can take the jack-o-lantern home.
- A cooking activity can provide opportunities for the children to measure in cups, tablespoons and teaspoons. Pumpkin bread is a good, healthy thing to make.
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups canned or cooked pumpkin
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (if desired)
3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
With an electric mix, beat eggs and sugar well. Add pumpkin, oil and vanilla. Mix thoroughly. Combine flour, soda, baking powder, salt and spices. Add to pumpkin mixture and blend. Fold in pecans. Divide mixture into two well-greased loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour (this dough freezes well). Yield: 2 loaves.
Pumpkin bread is delicious sliced thin and spread with softened cream cheese or butter.
This recipe was made available by the Energy Advisors Committee of LA Power & Light. (circa 1980's)
If you want to make a pumpkin pie as a reward for the children at the end of the unit, I have a delicious pumpkin pie recipe on our Louisiana Holiday Feast lens.
Apples and Pumpkins
Social Studies
- locate growing regions on a map.
- identify the tribes and customs of Native Americans who farmed.
Activities
- A small group can visit the library or use the Internet to research the states and regions that grow pumpkins. Encyclopedias, atlases and almanacs may yield information on the growing conditions most suitable for pumpkin farming.
- Another small group can visit the library or use the Internet to research the tribes of Native Americans that grew pumpkins and squash. Their location can be mapped and their customs and lifestyle noted.
Pumpkin Activity, Symbols and Poetry Books
Plenty of Pumpkin Books
Key Word Searching
Picking out the most important, key word or phrase is the most crucial skill in Internet research. Start with a broad search, using 1 or 2 words, then narrow your search if there are too many hits. Often, different combinations must be tried until you get the information that you are looking for.
Library Information Skills
- use an atlas.
- take notes from trade books.
- locate information in the Guinness Book of World Records.
- read and record information on charts.
- look up words in a dictionary.
- appreciate literature on their own level.
Activities
Center 1
Skill: Estimation, index, and note-taking
Two real pumpkins (1 small and 1 medium) will be provided. Students will estimate the weight and circumference of the 2 and record their guesses on a chart.
Then they will look for the "record" for the largest pumpkin in The Guinness Book of World Records".
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Sample Work Sheet

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Center 2
Skill: Table of Contents and Note-taking
Students will follow the directions on task cards to locate and read a Chapter in a trade book that has been preselected. Make copies of the task card and fill in the blanks for each book that you have chosen. They will be instructed to write 5 words about the subject and then write down all they know about the subject using the 5 words.
Choose informational books with chapters like: Deanna F. Cook's, Kids' Pumpkin Projects, Edna Barth's, Witches, Pumpkins, and Grinning Ghosts The Story of the Halloween Symbols, Marjorie Waters', The Victory Garden Kids' Book and/or Jennifer Storey Gillis', In a Pumpkin Shell.
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Sample Task Card

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Center 3
Skill: Dictionary Use and Writing
The students will use the dictionary to help them write alliterations that begin with the letter "P".
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Sample Task Card:
An alliteration is a poem or sentence in which almost all of the words start with the same letter.
Example:
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where's the peck of pickled peppers that Peter Piper picked?
Directions:
Use the letter "P" to make your own alliteration. You may use the "P" section of the dictionary to help you find "P" words.
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Center 4
Skill: Mapping, reading for information and note-taking
The students will draw their impression of what the inside of a "pumpkin house" would look like.
When finished, they will find the dimensions (weight and circumference) for the current record pumpkin, using a current newspaper article or Wikipedia.
Center 5
Skill: Plant reproduction and cultivation and folklore
The students will listen to any of the books and audio below or also to some folktales from Hidden Stories in Plants.
Talking Pumpkin Books
Even More Pumpkin Books
Develop Story Telling Skills
Retelling or acting out a story will help children with many important skills and will also improve self confidence.
Poems for Every Season
Poetry Place Anthology: More than 600 poems for all occasions!
Amazon Price: (as of 11/28/2009)![]()
The pages of this book are packed with plenty of pumpkin poems, as well as other perky poems for all the seasons and occasions.
Art, Music, Drama and Physical Education
- After reading Mousekin's Golden House, Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater, or Perky Pumpkin's Open House Surprise, the children can draw what the inside of a "pumpkin house" would look like.
- The children can participate in a "Design the Jack-o-lantern's Face" contest. The best design will be carved on the pumpkin.
- Various poems and finger plays can provide role-playing and dramatic experiences for the children.
- The music teacher can provide pumpkin and jack-o-lantern songs during the weekly music lesson.
Physical Education
- A game similar to thimble, thimble, who has the thimble? can be played with a tiny paper pumpkin. The refrain is, "Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Who has the pumpkin?"
- Native American games from the Pueblo and other farming tribes can be played by the children.
Books About Pumpkins and Native Americans
Pounds More of Pumpkin Tomes
Jack-O'-Lantern Garden
Gertrude M. Robinson
Where the warm sun brightly shines.
I'd plant each nook and corner
With jack-o'-lantern vines.
Then, from my little garden
I'd pick for Halloween
More golden jack-o'-lanterns
Than you have ever seen.
Of course, I'd choose the biggest,
The one that's brightest gold,
To peep in at your window--
Oh, there, I almost told!
The Pumpkin
Robert Graves
I was cutting a pumpkin to put in a pie,
And on it was written in letters most plain
"You may hack me in slices, but I'll grow again."
I seized it and sliced it and made no mistake
As, with dough rounded over, I put it to bake:
But soon in the garden as I chanced to walk,
Why, there was that pumpkin entire on his stalk!
Pumpkin DVD's
Flannel Board Story Telling and Idea Books
The Jack-o'-lantern
Florence Lind
And Mother scaped it out.
Daddy carved a little mouth
With such a funny pout.
Sally cut some crooked eyes
And trimmed the thing with beads,
While everybody laughed at me
Because I saved the seeds.
But I will plant them in the spring
And wait till fall, and then--
I'll have at least a hundred
Jack-o'-lantern men!
It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown
& Other Holiday Favorites
A Peck of Pumpkin Lenses
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Pumpkin Carving 101
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Pumpkin Carving is easy once you know a few tricks. Find everything you need, right here, the best pumpkin carving tools, pumpkin carving books, tips to make your pumpkin carving job easier and fix any pumpkin...
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Pumpkin Painting
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Painted pumpkins outlast carved pumpkins by months! Painting pumpkins is easy, safe and not as messy as carving pumpkins. So, grab a paint brush and have FUN!
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Best Pumpkin Carvings
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Carved pumpkins make halloween better, so this year, vote for your favorite carvings, or add your own best images.
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Free Pumpkin Carving Patterns
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Is your Jack-o-lantern a simple grinning pumpkinhead? Turn him into something wild and creative with free pumpkin stencils you can find on the web. See the list of sites offering free stencils below, and learn some more about the history of jack-o-la...
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Halloween Pumpkin Heaven
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I am fascinated by Halloween and the supernatural, and thought it would be fun - and hopefully useful! - to create a lens all about Halloween pumpkins. Here you'll find info on pumpkin traditions, pumpkin carving and other crafts, choosing a great pu...
More Pumpkin Lenses
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How to Grow Giant Pumpkins
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This lens will give you basic directions on how to grow a giant pumpkin. We will also give you some ideas on how to make money off you giant harvest. We will also include recipes for some delicious pumpkin dishes.
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Pumpkin Crafts, Pumpkin Painting And Easy Halloween Crafts
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I've always loved painting (I'm a Donna Dewberry One-Stroking painting follower!) but I absolutely fell in love the first time I painted a pumpkin! I really don't know why ... the pumpkin surface was so fun and easy to paint on. The designs were simp...
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Pumpkin Science
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Have you ever wondered how a small seed can grow into a big pumpkin? Life cycles are found throughout nature, even in pumpkins!
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Pumpkins and Place Value
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Pick the biggest pumpkin you can find. Cut off the top and smell the fresh pumpkin smell. Carving a Jack O'Lantern leads into a mathematical unit study of place value that incorporates all five senses. Counting pumpkin seeds into groups of 10...
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Pumpkins are not only Jack-O-Lanterns
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One sure sign of Autumn is seeing all of the Pumpkin Patches and the huge containers of pumpkins at the stores. But really, I believe pumpkins do mean something. They represent that Halloween is approaching. And that means it is time for Trick-Treat...
Pumpkin Recipes
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Homemade Soups
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Homemade Soups - Is there anything better than a wholesome home made soup after a cold day outdoors? I can't think of anything better to warm myself up and get the first hunger quenched!
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Pumpkin Bread Recipe
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A pumpkin bread recipe is often served in the fall, in North America. Pumpkin is such a great food to serve for Thanksgiving, for Halloween and of course, at any time at all during this season. I often wonder, though, why we tend to limit this...
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Pumpkin Cake and Other Fall Goodies
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Pumpkin pie is one of our family holiday favorites, but there are many other delicious concoctions to which this nutritious and tasty fruit can be added. We enjoy the old favorites, pumpkin cake, muffins, cookies and even soup. Any of these recipes w...
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How to Make Healthy Pumpkin Bread
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Quickbreads like pumpkin bread have long been staples for bakers. They are tasty, easy to make, and freeze well: you simply double the recipe and make a loaf for later. On this lens, you'll find a recipe for lightly-spiced pumpkin bread and substitu...
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Pumpkin Seeds: One Of Natures Wonder Foods
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Pumpkin seeds are one of natures own way of distributing a variety of nutrients: they are full of iron, zinc, calcium and magnesium, arguably the four most important minerals our bodies need and they are thought to promote prostate health in men. The...
Cooking with Pumpkins
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Pumpkin Pie!
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Welcome to a lens about my favorite pie - Pumpkin Pie! Pumpkin pie is a traditional North American dessert usually made in the late fall and early winter, especially for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. I, myself, love it all year round! &n...
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Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
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I love pumpkins. I like roasted pumpkin seeds, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin lattes, etc, etc. Here's my tribute to Roasted Pumpkin Seeds and all of the different ways you can make them yummy. If you have a favorite recipe that you would like t...
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All About Squash
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Squash what an interesting food item. This lens is all about squash varities, with recipes, pictures of the many types of squash out there.
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Pumpkin Obsession-Halloween is right around the corner, celebrate pumpkins!
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I don't know when my pumpkin obsession started, maybe as a child growing up in New England...fall didn't officially begin for me until I had my first bite of pumpkin pie. Picking out a pumpkin at the pumpkin patch was almost as good as my birthday. I...
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Pumpkin Cookies
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Like a pumpkin whoopie pie, these pumpkin cookies have a soft, cakey texture and a cream cheese frosting filling. They are great for Halloween parties or for a unique and tasty alternative to pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving.
Carve out a note to us
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Reply
- naturegirl7 naturegirl7 Nov 15, 2009 @ 7:46 am
- I created this pumpkin thematic unit when I was a librarian teaching collaborative lessons with teachers for the Library Power project.
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Reply
- LindaJM LindaJM Oct 29, 2009 @ 7:37 pm
- Pumpkins are so good to eat . . . thanks for the recipes! 5* / Angel Blessed
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Reply
- KimGiancaterino KimGiancaterino Oct 28, 2009 @ 4:18 pm
- Boo-lessed by a Squid Angel.
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Reply
- JoyfulPamela JoyfulPamela Oct 1, 2009 @ 8:21 am
- My son will enjoy these activities this fall! Thank you.
Pamela
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Reply
- missbat missbat Sep 4, 2009 @ 11:08 pm
- A great idea for a lens, good job! Have lensrolled you to my Backyard Pumpkin Patch.
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Blog Posts from Google
- For The Journey » Blog Archive » Largest Pumpkin Contest
- Our grocery has a few halved pumpkins in the produce area, but no canned pumpkins for pumpkin pie or casserole. But yesterday, Ali (and her baby, Reagan) and I went to Duisburg, about 30 minutes away, to see the Largest Pumpkin Contest. ...
- Brooklyn made three but Braxton makes four...: Biggest Pumpkin ...
- All the kids that participated in the contest... Pumpkin Contest 2009. In the end Brooklyn DID NOT win. We were VERY proud of her though...she grew a pumpkin that was 25lbs. Very big for a almost 2 year old. The largest pumpkin was ...
- 750 Pound Pumpkin Wins Greatest Pumpkin Contest
- There were a total of 15 pumpkins entered in the contest. In the youth division, Meredith Repscher of Taylorville grew the largest pumpkin, weighing in at 174 pounds. In the out of county division, Kyle Winkelmann of Tallula grew the ...
- It's The Great Pumpkin! - Garden Fresh Living
- Here is something just in time for Halloween! Have any of you dreamed of growing a gigantic pumpkin? Many people do! A contest for the biggest and best pumpkins in Southern California was recently held at the Heritage Museum of... ... She said that she and her husband have a private competition each year to see who can grow the largest pumpkin. Last year he beat her by 200 pounds. But this year, she beat him by 400 pounds! Christy prepares the soil with coffee grounds, ...
Plenty of Pumpkin Links
Recipe: Baked Pumpkin Seeds
This article provides a few tips for baking pumpki more...1 point
Couple's Pumpkin Sets SC Record At 897 Pounds, Pumpkin Grown By SC Couple Sets State Record At 897 Pounds, But Falls Short Of World Record - CBS News
It's a big pumpkin. A Lexington County couple's pu more...1 point
2006 Largest Pumpkin - Circleville, OH - Farmer Forums
2006 Largest Pumpkin - Circleville, OH The Odd Lot1 point
Pumpkin Facts
Here are some interesting pumpkin facts.1 point
Growing Pumpkins (Fast Facts)
This page provides tips for growing pumpkins.1 point
Recipe: Pumpkin Pie and Pumpkin Cake
These three different recipes provide different id more...1 point
Pumpkin Soup Recipes
Here are a couple of different pumpkin soup recipe more...1 point
Red Bluff Farm
Pumpkin Festival in Folsom, LA.1 point
Pumpkins and Place Value
Counting pumpkin seeds into groups of 10's, 100's more...1 point
by naturegirl7

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