Science with Pumpkins

In light of the fall season, we will be using pumpkins in our science lessons.  We are learning about the five senses, so we will use pumpkins to talk about what we can see, smell, hear, touch, and taste.  We will cut open the pumpkins to see and feel the insides.  I also hope to cook a few pumpkin recipes with the class so that we can use our sense of taste while also learning basic kitchen skills.  We will be making mini pumpkin pies, pumpkin seeds, and pumpkin bread.  I have posted a three of these recipes online, and I encourage you to help your child make some of these yummy treats at home.

Ven Conmigo- Come With Me

We are very excited to start introducing Spanish to our Kindergartners.  We believe it is important to give our students a multicultural worldview that will help them to be familiar with and accept cultures that otherwise might have been foreign to them.  We want to start teaching Spanish now so that our students are exposed to these ideas early in life.  We will be teaching our students how to count to ten, greetings and farewells, how to introduce themselves, and basic words used in everyday conversation.  We are very excited about this, and we look forward to seeing the growth of each of our students in this area.

Watch Charlie Brown and his friends as they talk about the discovery of America and the first Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Recipes

Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup water
• 3 cups white sugar
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
3. Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups raw whole pumpkin seeds
• 2 teaspoons butter, melted
• 1 pinch salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
2. Toss seeds in a bowl with the melted butter and salt. Spread the seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown; stir occasionally.        

Pumpkin Pie Bites

Ingredients

• 2 refrigerated ready-to-roll pie crusts
• 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• Pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Use cookie cutter to cut 12 pumpkin shapes from each pie crust
3. Press dough shapes into a 24 cup mini muffin tray
4. Apply egg white from one egg to the top edges of each pie.
5. Mix cream cheese, sugar, canned pumpkin, remaining 2 eggs, vanilla and pumpkin spice together until thoroughly combined
6. Spoon mixture into each pumpkin-shaped pie crust
7. Bake for 12-15 minutes.
8. Remove pies to cool

Dressing the Turkey

Thanksgiving is just around the corner which means turkeys need to watch out for hunters.  We thought we could help the turkeys disguise themselves this Thanksgiving.  I will be sending home with your child a template of a turkey that needs a good disguise so that the hunters won't recognize him, and so that he doesn't end up on a dinner plate this Thanksgiving.  Be creative.  There are many ways to give your turkey a clever disguise.  Here are some examples to help you get started.  Dress your turkey up as Santa Clause, a dinosaur, a penguin, Winnie the Pooh, a pumpkin, the list could go on and on.  The sky is the limit.

Weekly Spelling Words

• ham
• jam
• yam
• fall
• ball
• call

Please practice these fun fall spelling words with your child at home.

Star Student of the Week

Our star student of the week is Liam.  Liam knows all of his letters and the sounds they make.  Liam can count up to 29.  Liam loves dinosaurs and playing games with his brother.  Liam is excited to learn about Pilgrims and Native Americans this year.