To make "The Pumpkin Patch Parable" particularly memorable to young children, plan a pumpkin carving activity for the whole class. Depending on the children's maturity level, you can either carve one pumpkin, calling up multiple "assistants" for each step, or you can let the children carve the pumpkins themselves. If you have the children carving, review all relevant safety protocol first, as pumpkin carving requires sharp, pointed knives. Before you begin to carve, ask the children how the farmer in the story prepared his pumpkin. Get the students to recall all the steps and put them in order. This memory activity will help them to retain better the content of the parable. Encourage the students to be creative when designing the new face for their pumpkins. You can even allow them to opt for different designs, inspired by Christian symbols or images from the story.
For a tidier and simpler approach to pumpkin carving, you can have your students make their own pumpkins out of paper. For a realistic pumpkin patch, hand out orange or yellow construction. Using green construction paper and ribbon, create the leaves, branches and tendrils of a pumpkin patch along the floor of a broad display area. Show the students the pumpkin patch and lead them to tell you what it's missing: pumpkins! Depending on the students' artistic ability, you can let them cut out simple pumpkin shapes, providing stencils as necessary. Alternatively, you can encourage the students to make already-carved pumpkins, cutting out faces and using a contrasting color of paper as backing. For a more dramatic diorama, leave the cut-out faces empty and shine a light from behind the pumpkin patch.
"The Pumpkin Patch Parable" makes an excellent lead-in to discuss Scripture and sing songs related to the idea of light. Begin by writing the word "light" on a blackboard and eliciting associations from the students. Ask, "What does the word 'light' make you think of?" At the end of the brainstorming session, focus on the spiritual, metaphorical associations of the word. Read passages such as John 8:12, 2 Corinthians 4:6 and Matthew 5:14-16. Let younger students choose one passage and draw a picture to illustrate how they understand it. They can also sing songs such as "This Little Light of Mine" or "Shine, Jesus, Shine." Older students can write short, creative stories based on the passages.