Pumpkin Mania

In Friday we used a pumpkin to combine our Math and Writers Workshops. Students first had to make a good estimate of how many seeds they thought would be in the pumpkin based on the color and number of lines (the darker the pumpkin and the more lines, the more seeds it will have). We then began to carve the pumpkin. Mrs. Roberts carved the pumpkin while the rest of us recorded the steps in our seed journals.

Step 1: Cut out a circle at the top with a knife.

Step 2: Remove all the seeds from the pumpkin with a scooper or spoon.

Step 3: Draw and Carve out a face or design with your knife.
Step 4: Place a candle in the pumpkin and put the top back on your pumpkin.

After we had completed the pumpkin carving process, students decided that the most efficient way to count the seeds would be to place them in groups of 10s. Students were very surprised when they discovered that our small pumpkin held 481 seeds!!