INTO tips for teachers Pumpkin Decorating Lesson Ideas

s we approach the pumpkins that will light up your room! children can reminisce with parents festival of Halloween (All Embracing this awesome artistic (and and grandparents in relation to Hallow’s Eve) on 31 child-friendly) activity pupils can also traditions that were widespread when October, we reflect on get involved and help create a they were growing up. Samhain the origins of this pagan masterpiece. coincided with the year’s final harvest, Afestival and explore the meaning The #PumpkinChallenge project the wheat, apples and nuts that were behind some of the customs and is topical within schools at this stage of so plentiful at this time and feature in practices that we are familiar with at the year and allows scope for plenty of our celebrations. As well as allowing this time of year. For some weeks now, teaching and learning opportunities for tasty and tantalising treats, there we will have seen the “spooky” displays within the classroom setting. There is a was endless scope for fun and in supermarkets/stores across the plethora of resources available for entertainment – games such as country. Among the traditional teachers and we have included in this ‘bobbing’ for apples in basins of water produce available are pumpkins – this document some ideas that may and playing ‘snap apple’, where an fabulous fruit that has become a focus prove valuable for lessons in the apple is hung on a string and the for our latest challenge. As teachers, lead up to the Halloween mid-term participant tries to bite the apple we have memories of carving break. Pupils are always while keeping their hands behind pumpkins, placing a tea-light inside interested to learn that, their back. There is also and displaying them on our windows in yesteryear, Irish the old Irish custom of or doorsteps. This year, the INTO are people used turnips baking a barmbrack hoping to inject a twist to the usual when creating “Jack (Bairín Breac – meaning pumpkin carving and we are O’Lanterns” as our climate ‘speckled loaf’). This baked encouraging our talented and was not conducive to delight contained charms innovative members to get their cultivating pumpkins. It was that foretold your future. creative juices flowing and “transform” only when Irish people According to folklore, if you their pumpkins! Get painting, emigrated to America that pumpkins got the slice with the ring, you would stencilling, adorning, sticking … there were used. This is often a good starting soon marry, a coin foretold wealth and are endless possibilities to produce point for an SESE history lesson as a rag predicted poverty.

Development Options

English/Gaeilge Maths History Science • Procedural writing – how • Weight – estimating and • Origins, continuity and • The life cycle of a to decorate a pumpkin/ weighing pumpkin/s. change of pumpkin pumpkin – ‘from seed to ag máisiú puimcín. • 2-D Shapes – what shapes carving and decorating, fruit’. • Narrative writing – ‘The can be put on the Jack-o’-lanterns and • Varieties of pumpkin. night the pumpkin came pumpkin. Halloween traditions. • Foam experiment. alive…’/ ‘An puimcín beo…’

1 SPHE Art Drama Music • Nutritional values of • Template of planned • ‘The pumpkin that came • Halloween music and pumpkin fruit and seeds. decoration of pumpkin. to life’ – dramatisation of dance. • Pumpkin painting and the story. decorating competition on class/school basis.

Useful resources

Introducing Halloween • Video – Samhain to Halloween http://www.animatedhalloween.com/?idEvent=289&id History Playlist=949 • History of Halloween in Ireland • 11 interesting facts http://www.askaboutireland.ie/reading-room/history- https://www.dkfindout.com/uk/explore/11-spooky- heritage/folklore-of-ireland/folklore-in-ireland/Calenda facts-about-halloween/ r%20Customs/halloween/ • History of Halloween SPHE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGuPss01TXs • Stay tuned for an exclusive Foodoppi recipe available soon on our social media pages. English/Gaeilge • Writing templates /scríbhneoireacht Music https://www.twinkl.ie/resource/t-t-7111-halloween- • Five little pumpkins (Infants) shape-poetry-templates (free to download templates) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trDl36m9pgA https://www.twinkl.ie/resource/t-t-13948-halloween- writing-frames (free to download frames) • The Addams Family song (first-fourth class) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6QzbvH-ZNo • Teanga ó bhéal - gníomhachtaí ar fhorbairt na teanga https://www.scoilnet.ie/go-to-primary/theme- • Halloween, Halloween (first-fourth class) pages/irish/oicheshamhna/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsyEX9iIN-I • Thriller (fifth-sixth class) Science https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIx_HbmRnQY • Do you know how pumpkins grow? (Infants) • Ghostbusters theme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3y2PlffgCpc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9We2XsVZfc • Various science activities for different class levels https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/pumpkin-science- As Gaeilge experiemnts/ • Oíche Shamhna • Parts of skeleton and related activities https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTFxW092mCc https://www.scoilnet.ie/primary/theme- • Taibhsí nó Laochra pages/science/skeleton/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l969H454bTw

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