In late September, first-grade students at Manson Northwest Webster in Barnum, as well as first-graders at the South Central Calhoun elementary school in Rockwell City, learned about pumpkins.

Kalene Berte, the Tri-County AITC coordinator, used paper plates to create a “life-cycle wheel” to help the students learn how pumpkins grow. “There are six different views that depict the various stages of a pumpkin’s growth, including the seed, sprout, vine, flowers, a green pumpkin, and an orange pumpkin,” Berte said.

Students also got to inspect a real pumpkin vine and flowers, plus they used a tape measure to quantify how long the vine was. “They learned that some pumpkin vines can grow over 20 to 30 feet,” Berte said.

The kids also had the chance to dig in, literally, with their hands to discover the different parts of a pumpkin, including the seeds.

“I explained that pumpkins have hundreds of seeds that we can use to grow more pumpkins,” Berte said. “I related it to how one ear of corn has hundreds of kernels (seeds) that can be planted to make more corn.”

Part of the lesson included information about the important role of pollination in pumpkin production and how different pollinators are vital to this process. Berte also helped the kids learn the different parts of a pumpkin, how those parts can be used, what parts are healthy for people to eat, and whether pumpkins are a fruit or a vegetable.

Before the pumpkin lesson ended, each student received a pumpkin dot-to-dot worksheet, an informational worksheet labeling the parts of a pumpkin, fun pumpkin-themed pencils and a tasty pumpkin-spice cookie donated by Dewey’s Bakery.