Oh friends, I don't know about you but I am MORE than happy to leave behind the sugar rush of Halloween. Hallelujah it was on a Saturday this year, but the week leading up to it was more than hectic. Throw a full moon in there and I think you all know what I'm talking about.
We kept things as calm as possible under the circumstances with a fun-filled Orange Day on Friday. All of the kids were invited to wear orange instead of their uniform and we set up a small pumpkin patch in our courtyard with pumpkins bought from a local market.
Everyone picked a number from 1-18, and we called one number at a time, giving one child from each class the chance to pick a pumpkin. This helped us avoid trampling and collisions.
Once every child had picked a pumpkin we headed inside for some investigations. (Please ignore my classroom that is still. not. done.)
I was lucky enough to have four parent volunteers came in, which was just perfect for running five centers. Each adult took one center and we split the kids into 5 groups and rotated the kids every ten minutes.
Center #1 had the kids analyzing their pumpkin, and also learning about the seeds and pulp on the inside.
Center #2 had the kids measuring their pumpkins with unifix cubes
Center #3 had the kids counting the lines on their pumpkin
Center #4 had the kids making predictions about whether their pumpkin would sink or float, and then testing their prediction
Center #5 had the kids designing how they would like to decorate or carve their pumpkin
After lunch the kids voted on which design they would like us to carve on a large pumpkin, and then my teammate carved it into the big pumpkin. You can see the designs on the board behind her. Each design was numbered and the kids wrote the number of their vote on a post it and then we tallied the post it's.
After recess we had our orange snacks. Each child brought in something different that was orange.
Thankfully my volunteers stayed to help with the set up, distribution, and clean up of snack time.
And there you have it! It's turkeys and Christmas carols from here on out!
