The pumpkin patch has been a whole school effort, which was planned over months. Upper school helped to plant some seeds, middle school classes helped to decorate the pumpkin patch and make some signs and Bright Horizons and Lower school came to visit the patch to collect pumpkins.
The young people enjoyed sharing space with peers and working together to find the pumpkins; they used gross motor skills to lift the pumpkins. We used our numeracy skills to count the pumpkins and we found which one was the biggest and which one was the smallest.
We all enjoyed being on the farm and out in the fresh air, and then we went back to class and used our fine motor skills to carve or draw on the pumpkins. The activity was supported with communication boards and symbols, and we now know the Makaton sign for pumpkin!
Lots of learning opportunities, lots of smiles. It is so important that we can utilise our Farm to create such enriching experiences on site for our young people to enjoy. We are already planning a bigger pumpkin patch for next year!