We are so lucky to have a student that has an apple orchard and a pumpkin patch at his home. The pictures from his farm helped us learn about the life cycle of a pumpkin. 
We know that first a pumpkin sead is placed in the soil. A shoot grows from the pumpkin seed into the ground. Then, a stem grows from the seed. Above, you can see that the pumpkin seed is now a plant. It has many leaves and a flower!
The pumpkin flower is very important because it helps a pumpkin grow. The pollen inside the flower will help to make more pumpkins. Bee's take pollen from the flower and bring the pollen to other flowers. An interesting fact that we learned is that it takes lots of bees to pollinate the pumpkins. The bee must touch the male flower and then fertilize the female flower before the flowers close in the morning from the heat of the sun. Our friends family actually brings in bee hives to assist with this process!
The pumpkin flowers begin to change and the petals become smaller until they are gone. The bottom of the flower becomes larger. Above you can see a small green shape. That is the pumpkin forming!
The pumpkins continue to grow in the patch until they are large enough to pick.
Here is a perfectly ripe pumpkin picked from the patch!
What an incredible journey from seed to pumpkin! Thank you so much for sharing your pumpkin patch with us.
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