Free Printable for Teaching the Pumpkin Life Cycle

Fall is here, and with it comes the cozy weather and pumpkin time! Get ready for all things pumpkin by teaching your kids about the pumpkin life cycle with fun pumpkin activities.

Teaching the Pumpkin Life Cycle

The pumpkin life cycle is a great way to teach your children about how plants grow from seed to harvest. They will be so excited to learn that a small seed can grow into such a large, orange pumpkin that they see each fall. 

Explore a Pumpkin Theme for Fall

Fall is the perfect time to put together a pumpkin unit study and incorporate a pumpkin theme into your lesson plans and homeschool activities. This is great to do the month of October and leading up into Thanksgiving as well. 

Fun Facts About Pumpkins

• Pumpkins are actually a fruit, and not a vegetable.
• Even though pumpkins are considered a fruit, they are also part of the squash family.
• They originated from Central America.
• The big yellow flowers that bloom on the pumpkin vines are edible.
• Pumpkin comes from the Greek word pepon, which means a large melon.
• The seeds of pumpkins are called pepitas. They have great  medicinal properties and can be roasted and eaten.
• Pumpkin was most likely served at the first Thanksgiving.
• The state of Illinois grows the most pumpkins. Each year they grow around 12,000 acres of pumpkins.
• Morton, Illinois is called the pumpkin capital of the world.
• The largest pumpkin ever grown weighed 2,517 pounds!

How does a pumpkin reproduce?

Pumpkin plants have both female flowers and male flowers. In order to produce fruit, pollen from the stamen of the male pumpkin flower must be transferred the pistil of the female blossom. 

Pumpkin flowers need bees to pollinate them in order for them to produce. Bees are attracted to the bright yellow flowers and do a great job pollinating them. Once the female flower is pollinated, the DNA of the flower changes and forms a zygote, which is a seed that begins the development of the fruit. 

When do pumpkins grow?

Pumpkins are in the winter squash family. This means that like many squashes, they grow very well in the warm summer months. A pumpkin can take up to 120 days to grow and be ready to harvest.

They are usually planted in early June or July, and are ready to harvest in the late Fall when the weather begins to cool off. This is why you see so many different varieties of pumpkins and squashes in the farmers markets and grocery stores in the months of October and November. 

What is the life cycle of a pumpkin?

There are 6 pumpkin growing stages during the pumpkin’s life cycle.

1. Seed – The life of a pumpkin begins with a seed. Pumpkin seeds are larger than other seeds and fun to watch grow. They take about 10 days to germinate once planted.
2. Sprout or Seedling – After the seed is germinated you will begin to see a sprout out of the earth. These pumpkin seedlings will begin to grow and get their first true leaves, which will eventually turn into a vine.
3. Vine – During this growth stage your pumpkin plant will grow, and grow, and grow into a long sprawling vine which turns into its own pumpkin patch. The vine will stop growing once flowers begin to appear.
4. Flower – The flowering stage is where the large yellow flowers appear. Once they are pollinated they will fall off and you will begin to see tiny, little pumpkins form in their place.
5. Green Pumpkin – As the pumpkin continues to grow it will be green. You have to wait until it is orange to harvest it. 
6. Orange Pumpkin – An orange pumpkin means that the growing has stopped. When it is fully orange it should be ripe and ready to pick.

Pumpkin Life Cycle Activities

A fun way to immerse your children in learning the life cycle of pumpkins with hands-on activities and learning experiences.

Pumpkin Hands-On Activities

• Watch a pumpkin seed germinate so kids can see the actual germination process. Wet a paper towel and lay a few pumpkin seeds on the paper towel. Seal them up in a plastic bag and tape them in the window so they get sun. You will soon begin to see little roots form out of the seed.
• Take a visit to a local pumpkin patch. This is where your kids will get to see many pumpkins in a large patch. Many pumpkin patches or local farms will also have educational talks about growing pumpkins. If you can’t make it to a physical farm then go on a virtual field trip.
• Sing a pumpkin song. Singing is wonderful way to learn because it engages another part of the brain. Here’s a song that goes faster and slower – how fast can you sing?
• Separate seeds from pulp. This is such a fun activity for little hands to do after they have picked their pumpkin from a store or pumpkin patch. They will have a lot of fun scooping the pulp and separating the seeds.
• Roast some pumpkin seeds. Teach your kids that pumpkin seeds can be a healthy snack. They will enjoy washing, drying, seasoning and cooking their pumpkin seeds in the oven.
• Make a pumpkin pie. You can use fresh pumpkin pulp or canned pumpkin. Pumpkin pies are easy and fun to make with children. 
• Decorate a pumpkin – Pumpkins can even be used for art time. Decorate a pumpkin with stickers to make an animal, or draw a face and carve it. Another creative way to decorate is to pour enough glue on top of the pumpkin stem so it runs down the sides. Then just add glitter  – a little messy but lots of fun!

Books about the pumpkin life cycle

Enhance what you are learning about pumpkins by including a pumpkin life cycle book in your pumpkin themed studies.

Life Cycles: Pumpkins – Simple book for young readers to teach them about the life cycle of a pumpkin.

From Seed to Pumpkin – This read and find out science book explains exactly how pumpkins grow from seed in a fun, yet factual and informational way.

The Pumpkin Book – Learn about the growth cycle and many different varieties of pumpkins and how to plant them.

How Big Could Your Pumpkin Grow – This is such a fun book that shows giant pumpkins alongside famous American landmarks. 

Pumpkin Printables and Free Resources

Free Resources for Learning About Pumpkins – Round up of free printables that you can use in your homeschool for a pumpkin unit study.

4 Fun Pumpkin Crafts for Kids – 4 fun and easy pumpkin crafts for kids with items that you may already have laying around your house. 

Plant Life Cycles Cut and Paste – This no prep science activity is an instant download and has 10 different plants to explore the life cycle of how they grow from seed to fruit or vegetable.

Don’t forget to also grab your free Pumpkin Life Cycle Printables instant download at the bottom of this post!

Pumpkin Life Cycle Printable Pack

This free six page printable pack will help your children to understand the different stages of the pumpkin life cycle with fun worksheets and activities.

What’s included in this pack:

• Counting Seeds Activity – Count the pumpkin seeds in each box and circle the correct number of seeds. You can even use real pumpkin seeds as math manipulatives.
• Pumpkin Life Cycle Poster – This colorful poster is great to print out and hang up during your study of pumpkins. Your children can also use it as a cheat sheet when they are working on their activities. 
• Life Cycle of a Pumpkin Book – A simple printable book for your children to color in and put together themselves. They can read the book back to you after they have colored it and put it together.
• In the Pumpkin Patch Picture Activity – Look at the picture cards and draw and color the number of pumpkins to complete the pumpkin patch picture.
• Parts of a Pumpkin Labeling Activity – Cut and paste the words in the correct order to label the parts of the pumpkin on the worksheet.

 

INSTANT DOWNLOAD FREE PUMPKIN LIFE CYCLE PRINTABLE PACK