Home » pumpkin stem activities

Tag: pumpkin stem activities

3 Pumpkin STEM Stations for Your Classroom [ep.182]

3 Pumpkin STEM Stations for Your Classroom [ep.182]

Check out the full episode about pumpkin STEM stations:

 

Subscribe to the podcast HERE on your favorite podcasting platform. Have a STEM question? Leave a voice message for the podcast

Episode Summary

If you are looking for Fall-themed STEM stations that aren’t Halloween-related, but still celebrate the time of year, I got you covered in this episode! I’ll explain how I organized the stations with a group of students and how they rotated through.

Then, I’ll share with you the three, easy-to-prep pumpkin STEM stations that you can try with students. In my group, I had kids from 4 years old to 10 years old mixed together, and they all had a blast!

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Organizing and rotating students through the 3 pumpkin STEM Stations
  • Life Cycle of a Pumpkin Robot Coding
  • Pumpkin Pixel Art
  • Pumpkin Vine Pom Pom Mazes

Resources Mentioned:

Some items are linked to my Amazon Affiliate account. When you purchase through my link, there is no added cost to you, but I receive a small commission in return.

Episode Transcript: 

Welcome to the Elementary STEM Coach Podcast. I'm your host, Naomi Meredith, a former classroom teacher turned K-5 STEM teacher and coach. With over a decade of experience teaching and a master's degree in STEM leadership, I'm here to coach you throughout the year to help you gain back more time to create innovative experiences for your students.

The other day when I was shopping at Trader Joe's, my Trader Joe's had all of the pumpkins decorating the outside. Pumpkins of all shapes and sizes and all sorts of colors, and they even had bumpy pumpkins. I love fall, and where I'm here in Colorado, it hasn't felt like fall.

It's actually been pretty hot, but in the mornings I like to pretend it's fall. It feels very, very nice. And so this episode I'm sharing with you three pumpkin STEM stations that you can do with your students that are super easy to prep and a lot of fun for the kids.

I recently taught these pumpkin STEM stations to a homeschool group that I am connected with, and there's about 15 to 20 kids, depending on the day, that I get to teach, and we reserve a room in our local library that I actually get to teach and do all sorts of fun STEM stuff with them for an hour. And I love a good theme. I've said this a million times, but that's actually the way I like to plan.

It's really good for helping make connections, especially with the different types of activities that you do. And this one was all about pumpkins. This isn't specifically Halloween related, so you can definitely do these for this time of year, Halloween, if you're listening in real time.

But if you want to save them for November, you can definitely do that too. I had kids in my group who don't celebrate Halloween. So this definitely worked for kids just learning about pumpkins.

Really quick how I set this up. This isn't my typical four stations because I knew kids wouldn't have enough time to rotate through all four. And so I had four groups, but I had three stations.

And this is actually how it worked. The kids were in their four groups. So for me, I had a lot of ages.

So I actually leveled them by age when they were in their groups. I had three different stations. So robotics, a pixel art station, I'm going to explain all of these.

And then they had a creation station or their engineering station. And one group would be at robotics, one would be at pixel art. Two groups were with me at the creation station, the engineering station, and I would set a timer.

When the timer went off, the robots and the pixel art stations would switch. So they would get a chance to do that. Then the kids who were with me creating, they actually stayed with me.

So it was like they were rotating two times. They did need a little bit of extra time to create. And I did this before with another type of stations that we did about space.

And it worked really well. I set a timer again. So after that timer went off, my kids who were creating, they were done with their creation.

And I had them set their creations over to the side. Then the kids who are at pixel art and robotics came to my station for the last two rounds. And then my two groups are with me, one went to robotics, one went to pixel art, and then they would do the switching.

So it worked out awesome. They're the sweetest little group. I love working with them so much.

I'm excited to see them in November. But this works really well. If you can't do two days of rotations, I still have the four groups, but they rotated through all three, because everything was pretty simple.

And they got to try it all out. So let's get into those pumpkin stations. The first pumpkin station was using a robot, I use the code and go mouse, but you could use pretty much any robot you have on hand.

I have coding mats for many of the popular robots that you can print and create, which I keep a stash of those here in my home office. And what we did is students had images of the life cycle of a pumpkin. So starting from the seed, all the way up to the adult pumpkin, and they could put the cards wherever they wanted on the mat.

And they coded their robot to travel the path of the life cycle of a pumpkin. Once they got the hang of that, and if they had extra time, I also had a cube that a paper cube that is folded and taped together that had all the different images of each step of the life cycle of a pumpkin, they could roll the dice and then code their robot to go to that location. Even though my students were mixed in age from kindergarten all the way up to fourth grade, none of them actually had experience coding a robot before even this simple type of robot.

So it actually worked well for my mixed ability of students. Because this was their first time doing this and they loved it. The second station that we had was creating fall pixel art, I went online and I searched up different images of pixel art fall things.

So leaves, pumpkins, those type corn, those types of things. And I had those images printed out in color and I put them in page productors and they were laying on the table. And I had a grid printed out for kids.

And then the kids are able to create pixel art that was colored in. Now I've done pixel art a few ways where I've had the old blocks old boards. I don't think blocks is old, but I had older blocks, old boards, and they had these tiny cubes where students would put the art in.

That is definitely something that I want to invest in eventually, which they have versions of pixel art with cubes you can purchase online, which I will link in the show notes what I'm talking about. But I like students to create pixel art that way. Coloring is great.

You can even buy colored squares that they can put on a grid and create pixel art that way. You can even use those little melting beads where they have a grid. You could put those together and then eventually melt them.

I did coloring just for our time. It worked out well. Some students even would trace their image with pencil and then color in later.

So that was an easy station for them to do. And you can have a lot of variations. And for the station with me, students were creating a pumpkin patch.

And you might have seen on my Instagram at Naomi Meredith underscore, I was taking video of me prepping for these STEM stations. And one of them, I really was doing this. I wasn't just acting for this video.

I really was doing this. I have a whole bucket of pom poms and I was picking out all of the orange pom poms. Because I didn't want kids to fight over, I want this color pom pom.

I want this color. Nope. I picked out all the orange ones.

There's a few different sizes. That's okay. And that was enough.

So I had orange pom poms. Then I had paper plates that I made sure had an edge around it. Some of those really cheap paper plates, you know what I'm talking about.

There's no edge. It's just there. It's a plate.

But a little slightly more expensive ones with the edging so that the pom pom wouldn't come out. Then I had some images of pumpkins that they could color. And then I cut strips of green paper that would represent the vines.

And so what students did using glue sticks is they created a pumpkin patch with vines that had some loops and swirls and different arches that the pom pom could roll through. And then they would color in those pumpkins, cut them out, and add them to their pumpkin patch however they wanted. This was really simple, but they really liked it.

And if they held down the paper of the construction paper vines, it worked just fine with the glue sticks. And they had a lot of fun and they were shocked. I was actually a little shocked too, that the pom pom rolled around really well.

So it was a really great activity. And all of these things, so their pixel art and their pumpkin maze, they could take home with them. Of course they couldn't take home the robot, but I even printed them out the life cycle of a pumpkin activity that they could complete at home.

At the end, we had a little bit of extra time after we cleaned up. And the kids were actually telling me about this pumpkin story they had heard about. And so we actually had time to listen to the story, Too Many Pumpkins.

You'll have to listen to it. It's actually pretty cute. And it's also not really Halloween-y.

And so that was a great ending to our time together. Let me know if you try any of these pumpkin STEM stations in your classroom. I will link everything in the show notes for you so you can find what you need and have a very pumpkin-y time.

Thank you so much for listening to today's episode of the Elementary STEM Coach Podcast. I would love to connect with you over on Instagram at Naomi Meredith underscore, or send me an email to elementarystemcoachpodcast at gmail.com. Also make sure to check out my website, naomimeredith.com to see all the show notes from today's episode and shop my K through five STEM resources. Any questions you have, needs for resources or ideas for episodes, get in touch.

I'll talk to you soon.

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

 

Connect with Naomi Meredith:

 

More About your host, Naomi Meredith

Naomi Meredith is an online K-5 STEM Coach in Colorado supporting elementary teachers world-wide navigate the best practices, strategies and tools out there. With over a decade of experience teaching, 5 years teaching elementary STEM, along with a M.Ed. in STEM Leadership and STEM Certificate, Naomi helps teachers world-wide to navigate best practices, strategies and tools out there. 

She offers a variety of tools to help teachers feel successful teaching STEM to their elementary students through lesson plans, online courses, coaching and speaking events.

She truly believes that any teacher out there can learn how to use STEM, innovation and hands-on learning in their classrooms effectively. She can’t wait to connect with you and be your guide!

More About The Elementary STEM Coach Podcast

Are you tired of scrolling online for your next great STEM lesson? Do you feel like there is no time to plan, research and test meaningful STEM lessons, so you throw together a hands-on activity and hope that it works? What systems and routines should you set in place to help students be creative, critically think, and collaborate? 

The Elementary STEM Coach is a podcast for K-5 STEM teachers, classroom teachers, GT specialists, and homeschool parents looking for actionable STEM solutions. Each week, Naomi Meredith will share tools, resources and lesson ideas that are actionable in your classroom and create highly engaging experiences with your students. You’ll learn systems and routines that will create control in the chaos and that will keep you organized all year long. 

Your mindless scrolling days are over! Your new STEM-best friend is now here in your ear buds!

spooky stem activities

7 Spooky STEM Activities to Try [ep.129]

7 Spooky STEM Activities to Try [ep.129]

spooky stem activities

Check out the full episode on 7 Spooky STEM Activities to Try:  

 

 

Subscribe to the podcast HERE on your favorite podcasting platform.

 

Have a STEM question? Leave a voice message for the podcast!

Episode Summary

Are you looking for fun ways to celebrate Halloween in your STEM classroom without any chaos or your students bouncing off the wall? In today’s episode, I’m sharing seven spooky STEM activities that your students will love. Whether you’re looking for fun activities for a Halloween party or to incorporate some fall-themed activities into your lessons, these spooky STEM activities are perfect for your STEM classroom.

 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • 7 spooky STEM activities
  • An overview of the materials needed for each spooky STEM activity
  • Tips and strategies for implementing each activity

Resources Mentioned:

Episode Transcript: 

Naomi Meredith [00:00:00]:


Looking to add an element of spookiness to your STEM lessons? Well, I have the perfect amount of ideas for you. Whether you are looking for something to do with your whole class or a lot of different STEM stations. These 7 ideas are definitely going to add in that spooky factor. When I first started teaching, I taught 2nd grade for 2 years and 3rd grade for 4 years. Once I got my feet underway after teaching 2nd grade, I moved on to 3rd grade in a new school, new district, and I had parents plan and host my classroom parties. Well, after that year, that was something I told myself, never again is that ever happening. They were absolutely out of control. The kids ate way too much food, and who was left to deal with them all day? Me.


Naomi Meredith [00:01:04]:


And it was absolute chaos. So I said from that day on, any party or event, I will get this covered. I know that I can plan this perfectly fine all by myself, and the kids will be calm. And let me tell you, it definitely works and why I would do the controlled chaos, but the kids were definitely productive during my parties and had a great time, and didn't eat too much sugar. This really went on in my K through 5 STEM role where really it's like throwing a birthday party all day at least 6 different times. So whether you're hoping to add an element of STEM into a Halloween or spooky fall party, these ideas would be perfect for that, but also a great addition to your Halloween STEM bundle, which you can grab in my TPT shop Naomi Meredith, and if they're not in there yet at the time of this recording, definitely grabbed the bundle now while it's at its cheapest because whenever I add anything new, the price goes up and you always get those updates for free if you already have the bundle, so jump in on that as soon as possible. If you're looking for the link, that will be linked for you in the show notes. The 1st spooky STEM activity is a witch's hand.


Naomi Meredith [00:02:28]:


Don't worry, it's something that you will make on your own, and using cardstock, straws, plastic or paper, whatever you have, and yarn, students will actually create a hand that will open and close, and you can even have it try to pick up different things like candy corn. This activity does take some time and patience. So, if you are going to do this with younger students if you have older helpers or buddies helping out. That is a great option because it does take some time really tracing the hand, adding in those spooky elements, and then cutting the straws and placing them where the joints would be so that the hand can open and close efficiently. But once you get it, it's actually really, really cool, and it does help students understand how hands basically work with your muscles and with the joints. So pretty cool to see that inside view of a hand by adding in that spooky element. The 2nd spooky STEM activity is creating monster mouths. I tried this for the 1st time a few years ago when I hosted a Lego after-school club, and this is actually probably when I was first getting started with clubs.


Naomi Meredith [00:03:50]:


This is one of my clubs. If you wanna hear more about my clubs, I do have an episode about the 8 different types of STEM after-school clubs that you can host. So check that out. That'll be linked in the show notes. But this was really fun in our Lego 101 club where we just did some fun building challenges, and I just made this one up where students had those little Halloween monster teeth, googly eyes, and Lego bricks, and they had to design a monster that could hold the little mouth in place without being taped in, and then they put the googly eyes 2 or more or what however many googly eyes they wanted to create this cute little monster. They didn't turn out very scary. They were absolutely adorable, and even one of my students figured out how to make their monster mouth open and close, which was so cute. So you can go through the whole engineering design process with this, or if you just want to do the building challenge, that is an option as well.


Naomi Meredith [00:04:54]:


The 3rd spooky STEM activity is exploding jack-o'-lanterns. If you listened to my last episode, I shared with you all different kinds of pumpkin STEM activities. So, if you haven't checked that out, go back and listen. That'll give you some more ideas if you're looking for things that are more around pumpkins. This one is fun. You don't have to use real pumpkins unless you really want to, but instead, you can grab some orange cups, orange plastic cups, baking soda, vinegar, and even a little bit of food coloring or glitter if you would like as well. And you are going to have students create like that volcano experiment but using the cups to represent a jack-o'-lantern. So before they add in all of those elements, they can actually draw on a face, or maybe you have some stickers that they could use.


Naomi Meredith [00:05:50]:


You could even find those stickers that you see that kids decorate pumpkins, and they can decorate their cup to be their jack-o'-lantern. And then adding in those mixtures and solutions. They can have their jack-o'lantern explode. But before throwing it away, You could actually even put a glow stick in there, and this could be decoration throughout the day, and students could come and pick up their jack o'-lantern before they go home. So just a fun activity where you can talk about the states of matter but also add in that jack-o'-lantern theme. The 4th spooky STEM activity is flying ghosts. To help students understand the third law of motion by Sir Isaac Newton. With every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction.


Naomi Meredith [00:06:39]:


So, thinking about how rockets explode, that there is all that pressure building up that when it explodes, the rocket is blasting off in the air, and then so are the flames going back out of it. So that opposite and equal reaction. So same kind of idea, students will have white balloons, and they will design their ghost face, and then they will create their rocket that the ghost will travel on to fly throughout their zip line. So this can be pretty fun, too. Students can actually design the track and how that will go and how that actually makes a difference in how fast or how far the ghost can travel, and then they can definitely experiment with the different sizes of the balloons and all of that. This can definitely keep your kids engaged with a lot of different variables, and they could even think about having a ghost race. The 5th spooky STEM activity is having jack o'lantern and skeletal system robot coding. These are 2 different activities that have similar vibes.


Naomi Meredith [00:07:45]:


So you'll have 2 different sets of cards. So don't mix them up it kind of actually won't make sense. But for the jack-o'-lantern coding on your cards, you'll have different faces that go along with different complete jack-o'-lantern faces. So, for example, 1 jack o'-lantern might have a certain pattern of eyes, nose, and mouth, and then all of the pieces on the cards are separated and mixed up. So you probably have about 5 or so complete jack-o'-lanterns, and students have to take turns coding their robot to collect the pieces to complete the jack-o'lanterns first. You could do this in a lot of variations, maybe all of the cards are facing up, and they can see the cards. You can make it a lot harder and make it a memory game and then add in that element of coding. So this would be really fun and a lot of problem solving to finishing these jack o'lantern puzzles.


Naomi Meredith [00:08:40]:


The other robot coding game that you can do is all about the skeletal system, and this can help students understand the different major parts that are in the skeletal system. Likewise, they can collect all of the pieces that are on the card to finish up the skeletal system. I recently taught a STEM field trip here at one of our local facilities. And it was all about STEM and health and wellness and the human body, and it was 5th graders, and they hadn't yet had their human body lessons, which I know that they would do eventually, that's just something that they do in science out here in Colorado, but there are all these pictures of the different body systems and the kids were like, ew, that's so gross. I'm like, you guys haven't had your human body lessons yet, have you? And they're no. I'm like, yeah. It is a little bit gross, So just be aware of your audience and also the images that you're using because this legit is probably the most spookiest of them all that I am talking about. The 6th spooky STEM activity that you can try is kid-safe slime.


Naomi Meredith [00:09:50]:


Now, I know parents don't love slime, and so this is a great opportunity to do this at school, and parents will be so grateful for that because they really don't wanna do this at home. And really, don't send it home with the kids. It's better off if they put it in the trash based on experience. But I have 3 different slime recipes that I actually broke down and rewrote them into smaller proportions. Because if you're teaching a lot of kids throughout the day, you will run out of supplies really, really fast. So, using those smaller proportions, they can try different slime experiments and compare and contrast the different types of slime, and one of those uses glue. I tried this specific recipe using glue and switching out the glue for glow in the dark glow. I was hosting a STEM after-school experience.


Naomi Meredith [00:10:45]:


It was a prize for something with our fun run. And I decided to do a STEM glow party, which I am gonna do a whole episode about it, I haven't forgotten about this. I have it saved for in the future. But one of the stations was creating glow-in-the-dark slime, and it actually worked. It was super, super cool. We did have black lights going, so it did amp up the glow feature, but I'm pretty sure if you leave the glow-in-the-dark glue in sunlight, it will glow in a dark room. The black lights just really amped it up and made it look a lot cooler. And the final spooky STEM activity that kind of as activity, but not really more of decoration, is having a magic potion bulletin board. Now, when you are thinking about STEM and really the whole purpose of teaching STEM, what is the whole purpose? Is it all of these fun and amazing hands-on activities? Yes, that's part of it.


Naomi Meredith [00:11:44]:


But a lot of the reasons why that we teach them and why it's important is all of the soft skills that you are teaching students, collaboration, perseverance, grit, creativity. Those are the true magic potions of STEM. So, just using my bulletin board kit where you just print, cut, and hang. It has all of those magic potions where you can decorate your space, your bulletin board or your door, whatever, your windows to get in the mood of spooky season. When I print these out, cut them out, and try it, I usually print out 2 sets. And I gave a whole set to one of my STEM teacher friends, and she was like, oh my gosh. This is amazing. This takes me hardly any time to hang up, and it looks really, really cute. So definitely a fun way that you can decorate for this season where it's STEM themed, but then you can also laminate and keep them for year after year.


Naomi Meredith [00:12:42]:


As a recap, here are those 7 spooky STEM activities that you can try in your classroom. 1st is the witch's hands. Next is the monster mouse. 3rd are the exploding jack-o'-lanterns. 4th are the flying ghosts. 5th, the robot coding stations with jack o'-lanterns and the skeletal system. 6th, kids safe slime but make it glow in the dark, and 7, the magic potion bulletin board. I hope that all of these activities get you in the mood for spooky season.


Naomi Meredith [00:13:21]:


And if you don't feel like putting them all together yourself, I've done all of that work for you. You can check it out in my Halloween STEM bundle at my tpt shop, Naomi Meredith, just to save you some time, and so you can just focus on your Halloween costume. Hint, hint, I am, and make sure to go and check it out on my Instagram page. Thank you so much for being here, and have a happy spooky season.

 

 

Code robots to collect different pieces of a Jack-o-Lantern to create a custom design. Grab the templates for this lesson here. 

 

 

spooky stem activities

 

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

 

Connect with Naomi Meredith:

 

More About your host, Naomi Meredith

Naomi Meredith is a former classroom teacher turned current K-5 STEM teacher and coach. Her role not only includes teaching over 500 students in her school, but also leading professional development and co-teaching with teachers to help them integrate STEM & Technology.

With over a decade of experience along with a M.Ed. in STEM Leadership and STEM certificate, she helps teachers navigate the best practices, strategies and tools out there.

She truly believes that any teacher out there can learn how to use STEM & Technology in their classrooms effectively. She can’t wait to connect with you and be your guide!

More About The Elementary STEM Coach Podcast

Are you tired of scrolling online for your next great STEM lesson? Do you feel like there is no time to plan, research and test meaningful STEM lessons, so you throw together a hands-on activity and hope that it works? What systems and routines should you set in place to help students be creative, critically think, and collaborate? 

The Elementary STEM Coach is a podcast for K-5 STEM teachers, classroom teachers, GT specialists, and homeschool parents looking for actionable STEM solutions. Each week, Naomi Meredith will share tools, resources and lesson ideas that are actionable in your classroom and create highly engaging experiences with your students. You’ll learn systems and routines that will create control in the chaos and that will keep you organized all year long. 

Your mindless scrolling days are over! Your new STEM-best friend is now here in your ear buds!

pumpkin STEM challenges

5 Pumpkin STEM Challenges to Try [ep.128]

5 Pumpkin STEM Challenges to Try [ep.128]

pumpkin STEM challenges

Check out the full episode on 5 Pumpkin STEM Challenges to Try:  

 

Subscribe to the podcast HERE on your favorite podcasting platform.

Have a STEM question? Leave a voice message for the podcast!

Episode Summary

With fall upon us, that means it’s time to start planning fall-themed activities for your STEM classroom. In today’s episode, I’m sharing 5 pumpkin STEM challenges for you to implement in your classroom. These STEM challenges were such a hit with my students, so I know your students will enjoy them, too.

 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • 5 pumpkin STEM challenges
  • Tips and strategies for implementing each pumpkin STEM challenge
  • How each activity connects to the standards

Resources Mentioned:

Episode Transcript: 

Naomi Meredith [00:00:00]:


Fall is here, and it's all things pumpkin over at my house. Take this theme into your classroom with these 5 STEM pumpkin-themed activities. I am getting in the mood for fall in this episode, and I am wearing the only orange shirt that I have in my closet, and it is a jack-o'-lantern shirt. So, if you're watching the video version of this podcast, you can check out the shirt that I found at Target 1 year ago.


Naomi Meredith [00:01:00]:


And you guys know I love a good theme and that it really involves teaching my whole k through 5 STEM year-long plan where every month has its own theme and tool that it's working on. But there are also times when I have liked to add in those themed seasonal activities, and the kids like it, too. So, it's fun to mix these things into your lesson plans. And also they can also make great backup sub plans if you can't seem to find out where to fit it in. So I saw over on Instagram the other day. It was a funny video. This guy was making something called a boo basket, where it's a basket of things for your wife that have to do with fall. And you said, dudes, if you're making this fall basket for your wife or your girlfriend, whoever, you have to figure out if she is a fall girly or a Halloween girly.


Naomi Meredith [00:01:58]:


There is a difference between the two, and you might even be laughing out loud because I did. And I'm, Oh, I'm a fall girly because I feel like with fall decorations. These are things that you can keep up from September through November. And you just add in those little pops September through November, and you just add in those little pops of Halloween when you want. I have a few little pops of Halloween and Dia de los Muertos because my teacher honey is a Spanish teacher, so he likes those little things as well. I do have these skeletons that are taking a selfie, which is super cute. And I do have some other skeleton pieces and all that. But I really go for the fall vibes in terms of what I have going on in my decor.


Naomi Meredith [00:02:44]:


The same is true for these STEM activities, these pumpkin activities, you can do these from September through November, and it will work at any time during those months, and it won't exclude anybody or isolate anything when it comes to specific holidays, and pop them in when you need a little bit of refresh in your classroom. So let's get into these fun 5 pumpkin-themed stem activities. Most of the lessons that I am going to be talking about I have them all bundled up together in a pumpkin-themed bundle. So you can check that out in my tpt shop, Naomi Meredith, or check it out in the show notes. Some of the things I don't have an official lesson plan for, so I'll mention that along the way, and just maybe there will be something one day. You never know. Sometimes, I just like to create ideas and think of them, and then you guys can just run with it. The first activity is pumpkin life cycle coding.


Naomi Meredith [00:03:41]:


All you need for this is the robots that your students will code with for their grade level and the pumpkin life cycle cards. This is a great way to really learn any type of life cycle. And there are a few variations that they could play with this. I recommend when you are using robots, have a grid where each of the grid spaces is measured so that the robot can travel to each space within one forward movement. So you do have to do some playing around with this to figure out the grid if you don't wanna purchase 1. I do have, separate from the pumpkin bundle, for most popular robots that you use in your classroom, some editable squares that are already perfectly measured, and they can cut those out and everything. But have a mat for your robots, and then you have the cards that go along with the life cycle of a pumpkin, and students can code their robot to go in order of those things. You can add in other fun variations, like a matching game or a memory game.


Naomi Meredith [00:04:44]:


You can add in dice where they have the code to a specific part. So there are lots of different variations. I have that included in that lesson plan ready to go. But another way to think about that s, science, and stem and add in that element of coding. The second activity is pumpkin digital activities. And I have 2 different variations because if you're teaching all the grades, you need a lot of different things to make sure you're hitting all those standards and have those age-appropriate activities. For k through 2, my students really, really liked this one, and they added it in as a STEM station for one of the stations they could attend to.


Naomi Meredith [00:05:25]:


But for K and 2, I had this pumpkin digital activity where every slide had something different to accomplish. It had a lot of different cross-curricular connections and even audio of me reading the directions. I created a version for Seesaw, also Google Slides, and PowerPoint. It's the same exact thing. My preference is Seesaw. You guys know that is one of my favorite tools, but the activity slides are really fun because they stay on that slide. They can listen to the directions being read to them, and then they can independently or even with a partner complete those activities, such as measuring the pumpkin vine with Unifix cubes, digital Unifix cubes, and see how long it is creating a pumpkin face using the different shapes. There's even a chance to match the letters to spell different words that are related to pumpkins and even labeling a pumpkin digitally.


Naomi Meredith [00:06:23]:


The kids really liked it. They felt excited about each of the activities, and they wanted to have me make a lot more of them. Though. This is something that I really enjoy doing as a stem station. Likewise, you could do this as a stem station or even something that students can go to throughout the week if they finish a project, but have for 2nd through 5th grade, a pumpkin digital interactive notebook. It has the same kind of vibes as the kindergarten version or the primary version, but of course, activities that are more at their level. So compare and contrast. What do you notice in this picture, looking at a graph and finding out data and things that they notice about the graph?


Naomi Meredith [00:07:06]:


So, again, this could be something that they can get to throughout the week. It doesn't have to be your day lesson. It can be if you have classes on a holiday. You know, students can be a little bit crazy if you're having classroom parties, and when they come into specials, you might need a more chill activity. I would do these digital interactive notebooks all the time when I was a 3rd-grade teacher and had them themed and related to the topic. And, again, this is something that they could get to if we finish the other projects or, like, as a may do thing like a fast finisher. So that is something that you can add to your curriculum. The next activity is to design a spooky pumpkin.


Naomi Meredith [00:07:47]:


This is something I don't currently have in my shop, but maybe sometime in the future. But using Lego bricks or if you have even some LEGO education kits like LEGO We Do 2.0. I know that kit is discontinued, but is still an excellent, excellent kit. Or maybe you have the upgraded, the newer versions like the Lego Spike essential kit. Students can create a spooky pumpkin, and using the motion sensor, they can code the pumpkin to make a sound. And this is a lot like when you see the decorations that you move past, and as soon as you move past that decoration, then it freaks you out. It makes you really scared. Oftentimes, those are turned on in stores, and you're like, oh my gosh, it's this, like, decoration is alive.


Naomi Meredith [00:08:38]:


So, the same kind of vibes and students can create that. And in the LEGO We Do Kit, the pieces aren't exactly orange. There are more orange pieces in the LEGO spike essential, but you get the idea, and they can get creative with that project. The next activity is building pumpkin bridges. This is something that you can go through the entire engineering design process, or if you wanna pair it down and feed through some of the steps, you could also do with this in one day. The goal for this challenge is for students are creating a bridge to hold as many pumpkins as possible. You can use a lot of different things for the bridges, such as pumpkin candies or unifix cubes, or maybe students have to make their own bridges, but this is a fun one that, again, you can stretch out as long as you want. Go through it fast and see the different types of bridges students come up with, and you can even talk about the engineering of bridges as an architecture piece.


Naomi Meredith [00:09:40]:


This is in the bundle that has everything laid out for you. And the last STEM activity is a 7 stories reading, how many seeds are in a pumpkin. This is something that I did again as a classroom teacher, but you could do this as a STEM teacher. And I had some kids donate pumpkins that they had or went and grabbed a pumpkin. And we had a few different pumpkins in the room, and we did different experiments and things that involve math with these pumpkins. So first we tested things like Do you think the pumpkin is going to sink or float? Why do you think that's going to happen? What is the outside like how many ridges are on the outside of the pumpkin, what does the pumpkin feel like, how many unifix cubes tall or you can even add in measuring with inches and centimeters. Students can even compare the data if you have multiple pumpkins in your classroom. And then students also had to guess how many seeds were in their pumpkin.


Naomi Meredith [00:10:41]:


And we did open the pumpkins up. And students scooped out the seeds. We had butcher paper all over. The students were on the floor, and they had to determine the best way to count all of the seeds in their pumpkin. And the great way of using butcher paper for this activity is that students can actually put the seeds in equal groups, they can draw, they can label, it does get a bit messy. So if you don't like messes, don't do this one. But it is a lot of fun for them to think about carving a pumpkin in a different way. Maybe some of your students have never done this before.


Naomi Meredith [00:11:16]:


You never know. You will definitely find out when you have them open up the pumpkin, and so are just another great way to get hands-on and make it a fun math activity. As a recap, here are the 5 pumpkin-themed STEM activities that you can use in your classroom. 1st is pumpkin life cycle coding. Next is pumpkin digital activities. 3rd, are creating a spooky pumpkin out of Lego bricks. 4th is designing a pumpkin bridge, and 5th is that STEM and stories connection, how many seeds are in a pumpkin, and dissect those pumpkins. Most of these lessons are packaged together nicely for you in a bundle so you can just grab and go and implement these in your classroom.


Naomi Meredith [00:12:01]:


You can find that in the show notes for this episode or even check it out on my TpT shop, Naomi Meredith. Thanks so much for listening, and I'll see you later, pumpkin.

pumpkin STEM challenges

 

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

 

Connect with Naomi Meredith:

 

More About your host, Naomi Meredith

Naomi Meredith is a former classroom teacher turned current K-5 STEM teacher and coach. Her role not only includes teaching over 500 students in her school, but also leading professional development and co-teaching with teachers to help them integrate STEM & Technology.

With over a decade of experience along with a M.Ed. in STEM Leadership and STEM certificate, she helps teachers navigate the best practices, strategies and tools out there.

She truly believes that any teacher out there can learn how to use STEM & Technology in their classrooms effectively. She can’t wait to connect with you and be your guide!

More About The Elementary STEM Coach Podcast

Are you tired of scrolling online for your next great STEM lesson? Do you feel like there is no time to plan, research and test meaningful STEM lessons, so you throw together a hands-on activity and hope that it works? What systems and routines should you set in place to help students be creative, critically think, and collaborate? 

The Elementary STEM Coach is a podcast for K-5 STEM teachers, classroom teachers, GT specialists, and homeschool parents looking for actionable STEM solutions. Each week, Naomi Meredith will share tools, resources and lesson ideas that are actionable in your classroom and create highly engaging experiences with your students. You’ll learn systems and routines that will create control in the chaos and that will keep you organized all year long. 

Your mindless scrolling days are over! Your new STEM-best friend is now here in your ear buds!

Pumpkin STEM Activities & Technology Lessons

Pumpkin STEM Activities & Technology Lessons

pumpkin-stem-activities

Fall is here and it’s a perfect time to try these pumpkin STEM activities and technology lessons in your classroom. All lessons have a printable and digital option to meet all types of classroom needs. 

*There are Amazon affiliate links in this post. When you purchase through my link, no extra cost to you but I get a kick-back in return. Thank you for your support! 

Pumpkin STEM Activities #1: Pumpkin Bridges

Help students learn about structure and design by building a bridge to hold the most amount of pumpkins possible. 

Students will go through the Engineering Design Process to accomplish this challenge. 

When trying this with my K-5 STEM classes, I used:

If allergies, cleanliness or cost are an issue, unifix cubes work great for pumpkins! They take on a “Minecraft” pumpkin feel! 

Click here to get this challenge for your class!

 

Pumpkin STEM Activities #2: Pumpkin Life Cycle Coding

Teaching the life cycle of living objects is always fascinating. Why not make it even more fun by adding in an element of coding? 

Help student solidify their new vocabulary by coding the life cycle of a pumpkin by using robots. 

Not sure which robots to use? Check out my robot recommendation list here!

There are 3 ways to try this coding challenge once the cards are printed out and laid out on a grid: 

  1. Teacher lays out the cards on the mat and students code the life cycle in order
  2. Pair up students. Partner A lays the cards on the mat, Parter B codes in order. Then switch!
  3. Same as above, but code the life cycle backwards.
  4. Print & create the dice included ahead of time. Roll the dice and students code the robot to that location. Try adding in two dice for an extra challenge!

Click here to get this challenge for your class!

 

Pumpkin STEM Activities #3: Pumpkin Science Foldable Books

Integrate the theme of pumpkins in your literacy instruction! There are 3 interactive, foldable books for students to learn more about this fruit. 

  • The Pumpkin Life Cycle
  • Types of Pumpkins
  • Fun Pumpkin Facts

As students read, they will have a task on each page to help solidify their comprehension and vocabulary development. There are digital options as well, including pre-made Seesaw Activities, that can make using this lesson even easier. 

Click here to get this lesson for your class!

pumpkin-printables

Pumpkin STEM Activities #4: Pumpkin Digital Interactive Notebook

Help students’ build their online literacy skills by trying a digital interactive notebook for the week. I typically use these with 3rd grade and up since these types of lessons have a lot of multi-step directions. 

Students will learn and respond about pumpkins from a variety of resources. All of the sources are linked within the entire notebook. No need to search for resources on your own! 

 

all-about-pumpkins

Tasks include:

  • Before exploration reflection
  • Vocabulary
  • Videos
  • Photograph Observations
  • Individual Articles
  • Paired Selections & Comparison
  • Reading & labeling a Diagram
  • Map & Noticings
  • Podcast & Reflection
  • Digital Creation

Click here to get this lesson for your class!

 

Pumpkin STEM Activities #5: October Engineer Inspiration Board

Enhance your STEM & Makerspace stations with this student Engineer Inspiration Board. Use this board to inspire young engineers to build various things that represent the month of October. 

Using any materials on hand, students have the opportunity to build:

  • apple
  • scarecrow
  • candy
  • spider
  • fall leaf
  • sweater
  • corn
  • rake
  • pumpkin

pumpkin-stem-activitiesThis is a way to inspire students to be creative and imagine new solutions to design these items. Step-by-step directions are not included to tell students how to build each one.

As a bonus, planning, improving and sharing pages are included to help introduce the Engineering Design Process.

Click here to get this challenge for your class!

 

Other blog posts you might be interested in:

Fall STEM Activities by Innovative Teacher Podcast

Best Robots for Kids for STEM & Technology Lessons by Naomi Meredith

How to Use a Digital Interactive Notebook in the Classroom by Naomi Meredith

After the Fall STEM Activity by Naomi Meredith

Fall Teacher Self Care by Obsessed with Learning

Halloween STEM Relay by North Dakota Teaching

7 Gratitude Activities for your Classroom by The Gypsy Teacher

Looking for October Content? Here's 3 More Engaging STEM Activities for Your Kids by Sprouting S.T.E.M.S

How to Create Engaging Halloween Activities that Support 5 Literacy Skills by Inspire Teach Grow

4 Fall Science Activities that are Easy and Fun by The Average Teacher

pumpkin-stem-activities

 

Have you tried pumpkin themed activities your classroom? Feel free to direct message me on Instagram, @naomimeredith_ and I would love to chat with you!