The children noticed a pumpkin growing in the Community Garden on the side of the East Wing. As the days passed, the children noticed that the colors of the pumpkin were changing from green to orange. When the leaves started to die, we decided to harvest the pumpkin and let it ripen in the Paper House. Children visited the Paper House and respectfully waited for it to ripen over weeks.
Everly: It’s all orange! It’s ready. We should cook it.
Teacher Katherine: If we have to cook the pumpkin, what should we make?
Everly: Pumpkin Soup!
Jack: Pumpkin Pie!
Katherine: We have a small pumpkin, I’m not sure it will feed the whole school.
The children agreed on pumpkin soup.
Phedon: This time I can use a peeler. At home I can’t but now I can.
Santi: Me too!
Tallulah: I cooked this at home before.
Eli: Are we done?
Santi: Are we going to eat this?
Phedon: At lunch?
Katherine: In the afternoon, it will be available at snack.
We’re excited to have gone full circle in a seasonal fashion with the children. Planting seeds, nurturing them to flower and fruit, using the fruit to nurture us and saving its seeds again.