Pumpkin Guts Tray

What you need

• a pumpkin with the top cut off
• a big bowl
• a spoon

How to do it

1. Sit down beside the tray with your toddler and squish a handful of the insides yourself first.
2. Hand them the spoon and let them dig, squish and scoop, in the bowl or straight from the pumpkin.
3. Pull the seeds out together into a little pile.
4. Let them scoop the insides back into the pumpkin to finish.

Why it matters

Cold, stringy, slippery and seedy all at once: a pumpkin is a whole sensory tray in one, and digging it out builds the hand strength they will need for spoons and crayons.

What they're learning

Hand strength

Pulling and squeezing the stringy insides works the small muscles in the hand that later hold a spoon or a crayon.

Sensory confidence

Touching something cold and slippery at their own pace helps them get comfortable with new textures, new foods included.

Scooping

Getting a spoon under the seeds and carrying them to the bowl is the same move they use when feeding themselves.

What to look for

Watch whether they go in with one finger first or with both hands. Either is fine, and stay close so nothing goes in mouths.

A tip

Do it on a tray or a wipe-clean mat, and sweep the seeds up straight after. They travel.

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