Pumpkin, Pumpkin

Above: Dorothy and I walk as we search for the right pumpkin

When I heard that we were going to the pumpkin patch, I became very excited. It had been literally years since I had gone to a pumpkin patch, 13 to be exact. The last time I went was when I was in kindergarten. I began to reflect on what I learned that year.

Being a small kindergartner, I wasn't concerned about what I was learning, I was just there to have fun. After the field trip, we made pies and baked the seeds and had a whole weeks worth of lesson's on pumpkins- did they phase me as academic? Nope.

Going back now, I actually was looking for things I could learn and teach. When I was looking at the goats, what lesson's could I teach? What about the corn maze, corn hulling, pumpkin finding? Each topic held it's own lesson. Driving to and from had a lesson. The archeological dig had a lesson.

Then to come into class on Tuesday and get to do the different activities, it all made since to me as to why I did those activities as a kindergartner. We learned measuring, how to follow directions, simple fractions, temperature, and more from baking the pie. From the seeds, we learned that all the parts of a pumpkin were edible.

Doing these activities and then having to come with activities really made me think about how as a teacher I have to come up with activities that aren't just on paper. By this I mean hands on, memorable learning experiences. Children should be able to take something out of every lesson I teach and never feel like they are just doing busy work or that they are merely doing something for "fun." While the activity may come across that way, when the child reflects back on the activity, they should be able to say that they got something out of it. As a teacher it is my goal , job,and duty to make learning experiences out of everything.