Dissecting a pumpkin seems like such a simple activity, but there are many reasons toddlers love it. It’s a sensory experience where they get to see, touch, smell, and even taste a vegetable after they have personally picked it from a field (or supermarket if you don’t have a pumpkin patch nearby). Is there anything that toddlers love more than getting their hands messy? This activity allowed us to use the vocabulary for the various parts of a pumpkin in French while discovering everything first-hand.
While handling the pumpkin and its various parts, I named each part out loud in French and included them in sentences as I described what she was doing with them.
What is “pumpkin” in French?
![](https://afrenchstart.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IMG_9120-1-1024x1024.jpg)
“Pumpkin” in French is “citrouille“.
Parts of a pumpkin – les parties de la citrouille
Stem – le pédoncule
Skin – la peau, l’écorce
Pulp – la chair, la pulpe
Seeds – les graines
Fibrous strands – les fibres
Ribs – les nervures
Pumpkin exploration activity
![](https://afrenchstart.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IMG_9131-2-1024x1024.jpg)
We started the activity by cleaning the pumpkin, which was in itself a fun activity for Surya. With the help of a small vegetable brush and some water, she scrubbed it clean. She then rinsed it and dried her pumpkin with a towel.
While you take a minute to admire the clean pumpkin and congratulate your child on a job well done, you can also review colours and shapes.
The pumpkin is orange and round!
La citrouille est orange et ronde !
I pointed out the ribs and encouraged her to feel them with her hands.
Did you see these ribs?
Tu as vu ces nervures ?
I then cut the top off, and took the opportunity to point out the stem.
![](https://afrenchstart.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IMG_9136-2-1024x1024.jpg)
Mommy will cut off the top of the pumpkin with the knife.
À l’aide du couteau, maman va découper le dessus de la citrouille.
Here’s the stem. It’s green, isn’t it?
Voici le pédoncule. Il est vert, n’est-ce pas ?
Mommy will remove the seeds and fibre.
Maman va enlever les graines et les fibres.
I showed her the seeds and fibrous strands as I took them off the top part of the pumpkin. Then, I gave her a spoon and a fork, as well as a few bowls and let her explore the pumpkin by herself.
She was fascinated with the texture.
I asked her if she wanted to scoop out the pumpkin and handed her the spoon.
![](https://afrenchstart.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IMG_9139-2-1024x1024.jpg)
Do you want to scoop out the pumpkin with a spoon?
Veux-tu vider la citrouille avec la cuillère ?
I then pointed to and named the parts of the pumpkin she was handling out loud and made a few suggestions.
![](https://afrenchstart.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IMG_9149-2-1024x1024.jpg)
Let’s put the seeds in this bowl.
Mettons les graines dans ce bol.
![](https://afrenchstart.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IMG_9172-1024x1024.jpg)
There are many fibrous strands.
Il y a beaucoup de fibres.
We then put the fibrous stands in a different bowl.
![](https://afrenchstart.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IMG_9160-1024x1024.jpg)
Do you want to see the flesh of the pumpkin?
Tu veux voir la chair de la citrouille ?
Then I cut the pumpkin and showed her the pulp and peeled a bit of the skin off for her to see.
![](https://afrenchstart.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IMG_9161-1024x1024.jpg)
Let’s put the pulp in this bowl and the skin in this one.
Mettons la chair dans ce bol et la peau dans celui-ci.
At the end, you should have five bowls containing a different part of the pumpkin. You can practice the vocabulary by pointing to each bowl and naming the part of the pumpkin in French.
![parts of a pumpkin in french](https://afrenchstart.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Parts-of-a-pumpkin-in-French-1-1024x1024.png)
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