Basic Science Concepts for Kiddos
Harper Collins' Let's Read and Find Out series teaches preschoolers and young elementary school kiddos basic science concepts and are written and illustrated with an understanding of how children think! For example, one of the first illustrations in From Seed to Pumpkin is of pumpkin seed packets with a focus on the Cinderella and Jack O'Lantern packets because children know about pumpkins from the fairy tale and the holiday!
Ideas for Making it Real
The Find Out More About Pumpkins section at the end of the book is all you need to make it real for your child include directions for roasting pumpkin seeds and for a science experiment! If you want more ideas, take a look at Fun & Simple Pumpkin Science Lessons for Kids by Raising Global Kidizens.
What Else Do We Do with Pumpkins?
Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie is the perfect book for littles while your older child is reading Pumpkin Circle. While it is shorter in length, the pictures are stunning AND the gentle tease about "what else are pumpkins used for?" will keep the interest of those kiddos waiting to hear about Jack O'Lanterns!
I particularly appreciate the wide diversity of children included in the pictures, although two-thirds of the pictures are of pumpkins and animals. Ideas for Making it Real
National Geographic Kids' information books are among my favorites - the information is accurate and pictures or illustrations are geared for children. If you are interested in gardening with your child, author Jill Esbaum has published other non-fiction titles with NGK which will entice your little one to get out in the dirt with you!
Pumpkin Shapes
Children love shapes - circles, hearts, spirals, squares, triangles! As they learn about shapes, our kiddos want to make sure we know about them too! And when your little one tells you she loves you with her heart and her triangle, you can be assured she understands shapes! Just not anatomy - yet.
One of the lovely things about Pumpkin Circle is you can point out so many different shapes while also learning about the pumpkin's life cycle in the garden! The book may be a bit long to do this with very young ones, but four, five and six-year olds will appreciate identifying the shapes they may already know - connecting the concept of a specific shape with a favorite Halloween or Harvest vegetable builds critical background knowledge. Ideas for Making it Real
I absolutely love this book's rhyming text, the vibrant pictures and the gentle humor! But most of all I think this book should be on every child's bookshelf because growing a pumpkin is explained in a child-friendly way. The last page of the book provides simple, but detailed directions on how to plant, grow and harvest a pumpkin - including when and how to carve a name or picture on the pumpkin while it grows!
If you want to focus on shapes-oriented activities, take a look at
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