One of our favorite fall traditions is making jack-o-lanterns. It’s still a little early in the season so this mess-free activity is a great stand in! Your preschooler is sure to enjoy the multitude of silly pumpkin faces they can create. All you need is to download our FREE printable, cut it apart and you’re set. Grab the download after the jump…
Craft/Activity/Snack: Jack-o-Lantern Mash Up Activity
Objective: Create endless silly faces with an assortment of eyes, noses, and mouths
Skills Utilized: fine motor skills, creativity
Suggested Reading: Pumpkin Light by David Ray
Materials: Jack-o-Lantern Face Download, paper cutter or scissors. OPTIONAL – Laminater
Step 1: Download and print the Jack-o-Lantern Collage. Optional: if laminating, now is the time to do so!
Step 2: Cut the two rows of pumpkins apart and trim the edges
Step 3: Use the guidelines to trim the pumpkins into thirds horizontally
Step 4: Cut each pumpkin segment apart
Step 5: Spread ’em out and let your kiddos have at it
Jasper (and Mila!) loved putting the faces together while I was getting dinner started. There were so many giggles and “baby-don’t-eat-thats” coming from them.
This is one of our new ‘solo quiet activities’ for the month. These are things that Jasper can play with on his own while I meal prep or try to get his sister to nap. I keep the pieces in a baggy inside a large tub at his level. I try to rotate things every couple weeks so he doesn’t get bored with the “special” activities. This is a great activity to throw into an Autumn or Halloween theme box! Some other things we have accessible to Jasper are: water wow activity books, chalk/chalkboard, food chopping set, color pegs, duplos, alphabet sound magnets, and coloring books.
Expansion Ideas:
- Matching: Print 2 copies – cut one as instructed above and leave the other intact. Have your child build the faces in the original
- Storytelling: After your child builds a face, create a story with them about their jack-o-lantern
- Drawing: Cut a pumpkin out of orange paper and hand over a black marker (washable, of course!) Have your child draw a face on their pumpkin.
What a cute idea for a mash-up.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is such a neat idea! Pumpkins rock! Going to pin so we can try it.
LikeLike
This is surely a fun activity for the kids, can’t wait to try it out with them.
LikeLike
This is such a fabulous idea. I
Love everything pumpkin and this is so much fun. I love the expansion ideas as well. Pinning for us to do this on Monday!
LikeLike
This is so fun and educational! It looks so easy too. My daughter loves anything that involves pumpkins too 🙂 thx!
LikeLike
Brilliant idea! Kids will develop their learning of puzzling and emotion apprehension as well at once. I must try this at home. Thanks Amanda and Jess
LikeLike