STE Second Graders Carve Out Fun
To celebrate Halloween, the Saint Thomas’ Episcopal School second grade boys class welcomed their newest classmate: a large orange pumpkin. Lovingly named Dobby the Pumpkin by the class, the boys would come in every day to see him doing silly things, like sitting in the class beanbag chair, completing a math test, or wearing a wig. During the playoffs, Dobby even wore an Astros cap.
"It's so fun to watch the kids react as they come in each morning: finding Dobby and seeing what his antics are from day to day,” Mrs. Lali Lane, the second grade boys teacher, said.
“He was really naughty in very mischievous ways and very bad ways,” Parker Brito added. “Like, he would leave a mess and not clean up.”
Two weeks after Dobby’s mysterious arrival, the class would have Pumpkin Discovery Day, an annual second grade project where students get to fashion their own pumpkins out of any materials of their choice–basketballs, mason jars, and even dust pans. Students are tasked with making science and math predictions about Dobby, in addition to writing a report about their personal pumpkins to hone their writing and grammar skills.
“Each project is so unique and so much creativity goes into each one,” Mrs. Lane said. “It's so fun to hear the kids describe how they created a pumpkin that started out as something that didn't resemble a pumpkin at all, like a laundry detergent container or a beach pail.”
Each student individually presents his pumpkin to the class. Next came many students’ favorite part–carving Dobby the Pumpkin into a jack-o'-lantern. Mrs. Lane started Pumpkin Discovery Day 17 years ago when she first started teaching second grade. At first, it consisted of a simple pumpkin carving. It has since turned into a full day event for students to have fun while still learning.
“It was really fun, and I got to take home one of the seeds,” Elliot Frost said.
“I got to take home some of the seeds too,” Parker Brito added. “I want to use it to plant a pumpkin.”
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