Thursday, September 30, 2010

P is for Pumpkin - A Pumpkin Seed Craft


The girls (ages 4, and 5), put together a quick, pumpkin craft, last night, to go along with Patty's Pumpkin Patch by Teri Sloat.

Patty's Pumpkin Patch, is a rhyming story, following life at a pumpkin patch, through the seasons, from planting, to harvest, and on into winter. Not only would it be a great book to read before roasting pumpkin seeds, as that is what happens at Patty's patch, to the extra seeds left behind (click here, for directions, and suggestions for pumpkin seed roasting)...

...but, it is also, a simple alphabet book, detailing the animals, birds, and insects you might find visiting a pumpkin patch, throughout the year, making it very well suited for a fall themed, alphabet craft.

To that end, I helped the girls cut out seven pumpkins, from orange construction paper...


...and green stems, which they cut in a straight strip, and then snipped across, to cut apart.


They glued the stems onto the pumpkins.


Then, for C (age 4), I traced out letters in glue...


...for her to cover with pumpkin seeds.


For E (age 5), I printed the letters, lightly, in pencil, and she traced them in glue, herself...


...spelling out "p-u-m-p-k-i-n".

When their pumpkins were dry, or mostly dry, I taped them up together, under our fall leaf-list tree, where they are nicely displayed, and I can keep an eye on them, to make sure no one picks off any of the seeds.

At four, and five the girls are pretty well past putting choking hazards in their mouths - but you never know.

Be sure to check out this week's stART (story+ART) link-up, at A Mommy's Adventures, for more story stretching, arts, and crafts.




It's great to be a homeschooler.

21 comments:

Unknown said...

Man, y'all have gotten some major mileage out of your pumpkins!

(And the final picture is so pretty!)

An Almost Unschooling Mom said...

Wonder Mom - Waste not, want not :)

Natalie PlanetSmarty said...

I really like this craft and how well it works with your tree. Adding the book to my reading list :)

sbswtp said...

What a great project! I love how you used the seeds !

Debbie said...

I love this idea. I now have figured out what we will do this year with our pumpkin seeds.

Anonymous said...

cute!! Love how this turned out and looks so neat under the pretty tree!

Lady Chadwick said...

I just gave you the 'Versatile Blogger award'

http://ladychadwick.blogspot.com/2010/09/i-got-award-for-versatile-blogger-from.html

I love how you let your kids do so much with crafting, my daughter would love your house.

Brimful Curiosities said...

Your pumpkin posts are so inspiring. We're hoping to tackle a few pumpkin related projects soon here!

Rebecca said...

What an adorable decoration!

Ticia said...

I lov the completed mural.

(V.Kerr) School Time Adventures said...

Super cute mural!

RedTedArt said...

Oooh what lovely pumkins! Love that you used seeds too. What a fabulous project!

Maggy
Kids Get Crafty
Red Ted Art

Christy Killoran said...

I really like this. That last picture is great.

Kylie said...

Loving this, you've done so many great activities with your pumpkins!!

LitLass said...

Great craft! My 4-year-old would love it.

Mozer said...

We're doing pumpkin stuff next week so this came right at the perfect time! Wonderful ideas here.

Kayte said...

I loved this activity, especially how engaging it can be with kids of different ages.

I also have to say, having just found your blog today, how much I really appreciate it.

So much inspiration.

Amanda said...

Such a fun idea! I am looking for pumpkn seed crafts since my little guy threw his pumpkin like it was a ball.... rather than letting the whole thing go to waste!

Jackie Higgins said...

That's cool. I bet even my 2 year old could stick some pumpkin seeds if I wrote the letters in glue. Also, I don't have a fall alphabet book so thanks for the suggestion!

Anonymous said...

I love how you used the seeds. What a great idea.

Please stop by and link this activity to Read.Explore.Learn on my blog.

Val in the Rose Garden said...

Love the tree! We just did something similar on my front window this morning. :) And that's a great project for little hands too. I love that you used the seeds. :)