What's Inside of a Pumpkin? - A Pumpkin Exploration

Halloween seems to = pumpkin.

Pumpkins are all around us -

pumpkin based foods, crafts, decorations, etc....

The perfect time for a pumpkin exploration with the Lil Divas.

What's Inside a Pumpkin?

We were finally ready to carve our pumpkins -

we typically wait until right before Halloween due to the heat here in FL.

Our pumpkins do not tend to last very long after they've been carved.

The Lil Divas were excited to dig in & see what was inside.

We had some fun scooping it all out in preparation of our carving.

To showcase what they learned we made this simple pumpkin book

To make the book I folded a piece of orange construction paper and made the stem along the fold so that it would open and close like the spine of a book. 

For the inside we used the pumpkin seeds we scooped out of our pumpkins and some white yarn to represent the goop inside.

The Lil Divas glued the yarn inside as they desired to represent what they had seen in their pumpkins.

Then they added some pumpkin seeds.

Our finished products:

While the girls worked on their books I worked on this:

The Littlest Diva had her heart set on a Dora pumpkin!

I found a cute template to use and started poking & carving.

She was very pleased with the result! 

Phew, thankfully Mommy did a good job!

The Oldest Diva was intent on making a scary pumpkin this year!

She drew the face on it herself and daddy helped carve it.

Spooky, right?

I think she did a great job on her scary pumpkin!

She even added a witch hat for the full effect. 

Every year, we also buy mini pumpkins for the girls 

to decorate as they choose.

This year they opted to paint their pumpkins.

Of course every painted pumpkin requires lots & lots of glitter.

How sparkly!

The finished pumpkin masterpieces were very posh indeed.

What We Read:

National Candy Corn Day - 10/30/11

Yes, today is NATIONAL CANDY CORN DAY!

Of course we had to have a lil Diva Fun celebrating this fab holiday-

after all candy corn is yummy & a timely Halloween treat!

So here's how we celebrated:

Reading: Candy Corn Word Family Fun

What You Need:

1. Candy Corn template

I used clip art from the above link - 

resized them & fit 4 to a page for the word mats 

and 9 to a page for the recording sheets. 

2. Alphabet Letter Tiles (we use these often - great to have!)

3. markers to write word family endings

Here's a photo of the Word Family Mats I made:

(we focused on -en, -at, -in & -ig)

I supplied letter tiles for each word family mat -

Note: I threw in 1 or 2 that did not fit to see if they could figure it out.

What To Do:

1. Use letter tiles to make & read words on each mat.

2. Write the words made on the recording sheet 

Here's a little peek at some of the words the Lil Divas made.

Math: Candy Corn Addition

What You Need:

1. Dice - we love our foam dice

2. Candy Corn (Yum!)

3. Pencils

Note: I used the same template listed above for the word family mats to make the addition mats.

How To Play:

1. Roll dice, record number and count out corresponding number of candy corn

2. Repeat step 1 for second number in equation.

3. Add/count candy corn & record answer.

4. Repeat until all candy corn templates have been used.

Craft: Torn Paper Candy Corn

What You Need:

1. large candy corn shape on card stock or other firm paper.

2. yellow, orange & white construction paper

3. glue

What To Do:

Prep: Have child help you tear paper into pieces to use for the project.

1. Apply glue to the section you will work on first.

We started at the top with white.

2. Apple torn pieces of the correct color - encourage child to cover all spaces.

3. Move on to the middle section, apply glue and place torn paper pieces into place.

3. Move on to the final section, apply glue and place torn paper pieces into place.

Now you have a fun torn paper candy corn to display!

This is an easy project that is fun for little hands!
If you have a little one doing it try to make the torn pieces a bit larger -
it might help to cut paper into strips for them first & then let them rip.
Also, a smaller candy corn template works great for
younger children so they don't get tired!

Happy National Candy Corn Day!

Bern

The Sunday Showcase CHILD CENTERED Linky Party 10/30/11

Happy Halloween!

<a href="http://momto2poshlildivas.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Classified: Mom" src="http://classifiedmom.webs.com/sundayshowcase1.png"/></a>

Welcome to the Fabulous Sunday Showcase -
where we showcase YOU!

We feel confident in saying that this linky is always full of amazing ideas
so be sure to check out what your fellow bloggers have linked-up.
You will be inspired, awed and ready to create!

If you are here for the first time please take a moment to read
our informational post for full details -
we like to think this is a relaxed linky but there are a few guidelines.

Anything kid friendly and/or child centered is welcome!

We don't accept links for giveaways, shops,
or downloads for purchase, etc.
They will be deleted & we do monitor our links.

If you're linking up with us - please visit some of your fellow bloggers!

We ALL love comments, encouragement, feedback, etc.

One of your 2 Hostesses (Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas and/or Classified:Mom)

will be visiting & commenting on your shared link(s) -

we always appreciate your comment love too!

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This week's Showcase Features
taken from last week's post:

The Seven Year Cottage shared with us
these adorable Scaredy Cat Suckers

The Shed and Beyond taught us how 
to Weave Your Own Web for Halloween

 Learn how to make a Halloween Tree 
with Litlle Wonders' Days

Raising Leafs made these gorgeous

  Stained Glass Leaf Cookies

Little Family Fun

made these awesome Rice Krispie Pumpkins

If you have been featured, grab a button you deserve it!

<a href="http://www.classifiedmom.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Classified: Mom" src="http://classifiedmom.webs.com/hostedon.png"/></a>

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Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas

Colored Pasta Pumpkins

http://momto2poshlildivas.blogspot.com

These pasta pumpkins are so cute & easy to make!

Classified:Mom
Easy Ghost Paste and Tissue Halloween Craft

Easy Ghost Paste and Tissue Halloween Craft with www.classifiedmom.com

This was the easiest craft that my daughter (3) and I sat down to do
 using materials that you already have laying around the house!

Thank you for linking up with us!

Aimee (Classified:Mom) & Bernadette (Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas)

Colored & Glittered Pasta Pumpkins for Halloween

What is it about glitter that makes everything you add it to

look so pretty, sparkly & cheerful?!

We used those sparkly pasta wheels pictured above to make pumpkins!

Cute, right?!

Here's what we did:

Craft: Colored Pasta Pumpkins w/Glitter

What You Need:

pasta wheel

macaroni

green food coloring

red & yellow food coloring - to make orange

alcohol

glue

card stock - for background

2 plastic ziploc bags

glitter - (optional but oh so sparkly!)

Prep: Color Your Pasta

 To make your stem - 

1. Add a few drops of green food coloring & alcohol inside a ziploc bag.

2. Add macaroni & shake to mix well.

3. Place on paper towels and glitter as desired & allow to air dry.

To make your pumpkin:

1. Add a few drops of alcohol with yellow food coloring & mix w/a drop of red to make orange. 

2. Add pasta wheels & shake to mix well.

3. Place on paper towels and glitter as desired and allow to air dry.

*Adding glitter while the pasta is wet will help it stick*

Once your pasta is dry you are ready to make your pumpkin!

What We Did:

1. Start by drawing a glue outline of your pumpkin (minus the stem).

2. Add pasta wheels fitting them as close together as possible.

3. draw a stem with your glue and add macaroni to complete.

The Oldest Diva made 1 large pumpkin 

while the Littlest Diva made 3 smaller ones.

It was a quick craft that both girls enjoyed 

and we now have fun sparkly pumpkins to display!

What We Read:

 Do you have a favorite pumpkin craft or book?

Bern