Many families love to roast pumpkin seeds and enjoy their nutty flavour. After they are cooked, you can use the seeds to create a simple game for your older toddler or pre-schooler to help practise hitting a target.
What you'll need
- Dried pumpkin seeds
- Four bowls in graduated sizes
Game plan
- Save the seeds from the carved pumpkins.
- Dry them in the oven on a baking tray at 200 °C for about 30 minutes, or until the seeds are crisp and golden.
- Get out four bowls of varying sizes, and line them up in order from smallest to largest.
- Have your child stand about 30 cm from the smallest bowl and toss a handful of pumpkin seeds into it. If she makes it, have her take one step backwards and try the next bowl. If not, she can stay 30 cm away.
- Have your child take aim at all four bowls. You can give a small prize such as a cracker or biscuit for each bowl that contains at least one pumpkin seed at the end of the game.
Learning
Throwing is usually considered a gross-motor skill, but since the seeds are small, this game develops fine motor skills at the same time.