Autumn
HalloweenAll Ages53 Comments
Do more with your autumn pumpkins! Try 40+ different pumpkin activities for kids to learn, play, and decorate!
‘Tis the season for pumpkins! But what do you do with them – aside from making a jack-o-lantern or setting them out on your front porch?
40+ Pumpkin Activities for Kids to Learn, Play & Decorate!
I’ve searched the blog world and came up with 40+ amazing pumpkin activities for kids, that preschoolers (and even toddlers and babies!) can enjoy doing.
- Twelve pumpkin activities
- Nine learning activities with pumpkins
- Fifteen decorating ideas for pumpkins, aside from the usual carving
- Six activities to do with the insides of pumpkins!
See our 40 apple activities for kids? That’s a must save!
Fall was never so much fun!
Pumpkin Activities for Kids to Get Started
Pumpkins just seem to go with fall. But once you have your orange gourds at home, what do you do with them?
Other than carving, I mean. Sometimes I’m just at a loss about what to actually DO with the pumpkins!
These are easy ways to dive into the wonder of pumpkin activities for kids!
- Wipe-able Pumpkins, from SandwichINK, are a mess-free way to play
- Make pretty Pumpkin Prints with paint, just like The Little People Place
- Pumpkin in a Pumpkin, with an idea from Life with Moore Babies
- Make Play Dough Faces, like Teach Preschool, instead of carving jack-o-lanterns
- Rolling Pumpkins Art, from Childhood Beckons, is a fun, active way to create
- Hammering Pumpkins, from Preschool Powol, is a great motor activity
- Painting with Pumpkins, from How Long is this Hall?, makes unique art creations
- Bust out heavy tools for Drilling Luminary Holes, like This Old House.
- Add an extra challenge and try Hammering Faces, from My Montessori Journey
- A pumpkin Sensory Tub, from Counting Coconuts, is a simple, easy intro to pumpkins
- You’ll love this easy Baby Pumpkin Exploration, from Teach Preschool
- Play a game of Pumpkin Bowling, just like Wunder-Mom
Learning with Pumpkins
Pumpkins teach kids practically by magic! But you can always up the ante with these easy ways to add learning to your fall fun.
- A Rotting Science Experiment, from Kids Activities Blog, investigates decomposition
- Pumpkin Seed Counting Puzzles, just like I Can Teach My Child, mixes arts with counting and problem solving
- Can your child find the Missing Number? The Preschool Toolbox Blog has set this tough challenge!
- Do pumpkins Sink or Float? Find out with an experiment from The First Grade Parade
- Try Measuring Pumpkins, like What I Have Learned, to compare size
- Make Miniature Pumpkin Boats for another from sink or float experiment, just like The Preschool Toolbox Blog
- Estimating Weight and comparing how heavy, like Math Wire, is fun for kids
- Try a complete Pumpkin Exploration, from PreKinders, for a deep dive into everything pumpkin
- DIY Simple Pumpkin Volcano, from Little Bins for Little Hands, for a spooky experiment
Pumpkin Decorating
I get it: not everyone has the time, talent, or desire to carve. Totally a-okay!
Try these different, non-carving, ways to decorate pumpkins for fall!
- Glued to My Crafts made beautiful Painted Pumpkins
- Monster Pumpkins are a fun way to add a little silly scare to your gourd
- Crayon Melt pumpkins, like Mom Spark made, are simple to make together
- The Imagination Tree added some pizzazz to their Sparkle Pumpkin
- Cute Buttons made Doodlecraft Blog’s pumpkins stand out from the crowd
- Neon Dip Painted Pumpkins, as seen on A Night Owl, are ideal for real or fake pumpkins
- Drip Art Painting, like The Imagination Tree, is great for toddlers who like messes
- Foam & Feathers, or anything else you have on hand, inspired Tinkerlab
- Gift of Curiosity added Nail and Thread to create cute pumpkin designs
- Mr. Pumpkin Man mixes up jack-o-lanterns and scarecrows in a funny way
- Add a Pumpkin Mummy Family to your front porch
- Tape Resist Pumpkins are a fun way to make no-carve designs, just like Happy Little Messes
- Mod Podge Pumpkins, like Burlap & Blue, are easy and fun to make
- Candy Faces, from Mommy’s Bundle, help to “use up” extra candies
- Colorful Corn, from CraftoArt, creates a mosaic design
Sensory Activities with Pumpkin Insides
Pumpkins are really squishy and goopy on the inside, but so much fun to explore! It’s a sensory treat for fall!
- Easily DIY Pumpkin Guts Sensory activity from Creative Connections for Kids
- We love this DIY Real Pumpkin Slime idea from Little Bins for Little Hands
- Finally! A Mess-Free Pumpkin Guts Exploration from Stir the Wonder
- Make your own Pumpkin Seed Sensory Bottle, just like Modern Preschool
- Dyed Pumpkin Seeds, from The OT Toolbox, are perfect for sensory play and crafts!
What are your favorite pumpkin activities for kids? We’d love to check out your creative ideas!
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Jennifer T Tammy says
Thanks so much for including our Pumpkin Drilling activity in this fun collection of pumpkin activities! So many great ideas in one spot.
Rachael says
Love all these ideas!!!
Sentence starters says
This is very informative. Thanks for sharing and keep posting more educational posts like this and share to everyone so that everyone can learn.
theophilus says
I didn’t know pumpkins are that adorable. Keep up the great work
Kaye Swain says
What a great list! I’ve pinned it to my Pinterest board for Grandkid ideas – I started it for myself and fellow grandparents, but now my grandkids are getting old enough, they’re having fun heading there to get ideas! :)
Thank you, too, for including one of our pumpkin projects I shared on SandwichINK. I saw that and it brought back sweet memories of when we did that. They thoroughly enjoyed it and so did I.
Have a bright and beautiful day!
Kaye
Kattie says
It’s an amazing article designed for all the online people; they will obtain benefit from it I
am sure.
Kim says
Thanks so much for sharing my kiddos had a blast making monster pumpkins :)
Jamie Reimer says
Fantastic Kim!!
Julia says
Fab ideas! We have just moved to an area that grows pumpkins and I can pick them up for as little as a dollar. Now I’ll have to get a couple for my boys to play with. Thanks, Julia :)
Stephanie says
Hey verү nice blog!
April Thomas says
We at i9 Sports loved your post! We’ve shared it on our Facebook page today. Nice job! https://www.facebook.com/i9sports
Laura says
This is great! We just bought a pumpkin and I’ve been considering of ways to use it. I’m so excited to try some of these ideas with my munchkin.
Sarah @ How Wee Learn says
holy smokes! Tons of pumpkin fun to be had!! Glad we have all of October to explore! Our favourite way to decorate so far has been Lite-Brite Pumpkins :)
JDaniel4's Mom says
I love all the ways to work with pumpkins. The decorating ideas have left my mind filled with new ways to decorate our pumpkins.
Jenn says
These pumkin activities look like so much fun. I love the mummy and Ms. Potato Head Pumpkins. Can’t wait to try them!
Mary says
I just discovered this Jaime and have hardly made my way through all the great ideas. What a wonderful post. Thanks for doing all the work and putting so many wonderful ideas in one place!
alljoinin says
Brilliant, fabulous, amazing list!!! One more idea you havent had http://alljoinin.blogspot.com/2011/10/golf-tees-hammering-in-pumpkin.html
Kelli @ RTSM says
So many great ideas! I love the tree with the painted pumpkin seeds!
Katie says
This is such a GREAT list of resources! I can definitely do these both with my daughter, and with my speech therapy clients. Thanks!
Anonymous says
LOVE these!! For anyone looking for Halloween classroom resources, here is a link with several fun resources Thanks!
Joyce @Dinosaurs And Octopuses says
I just wanted to let you know that I found something else you could do with pumpkins. Haha! Our pumpkin guts sensory bin turned into a pumpkin guts fight. It was so much fun. I added it to the It's Playtime linky. It's a little.. crazy, but worth it.
Pam says
Wow! What a collection! I've been so busy lately- I plan on visiting and borrowing a few of these ideas for the classroom this week! Thanks for including out 'pumpkin painting!'
TheSingingNurse/Dawn Ginese, RN says
The button one looks fun, I will try it w my SMA pt. He enjoys most crafts, hand over hand…This one looks especially great for boys. lol
Amanda @ Not Just Cute says
What a great list! Thanks for including me – and giving me some great new ideas to try!
Ellie says
What a fab round up, going to keep us busy for a long time, so many creative and fun ideas. Great summary and thanks for including our cinderella carriage.
Ellie
createwithyourhands.blogspot.com
Brenna says
I so want to sprout the seeds inside the pumpkin and see if it grows. Great idea.
The Preschool says
Thanks for sharing; we are posting to our FB page, too. Gotta love PUMPKINS!
Sarah says
I hadn't even thought to use the seeds for crafts after carving. So glad I read your post before we cut up our pumpkins. It's always good to stretch the crafting fun for no extra money!
Amy@Let's Explore says
Thanks for including us in your awesome round-up! I love the pumpkin boats, the drip-painted pumpkins, and the pumpkin bowling. So many fun things to try! :)
Lori @ La-La's Home Daycare says
Thanks for sharing our Pumpkin Paintings! We are excited. :)
Mandi says
This is the perfect collection of pumpkin activities! And to think we used to just carve them. :)
Mandi at BBM
Joyce @DinosaursAndOctopuses says
Oh, I can't wait to check out these activities. And thank you so much for including my rolling pumpkin art! I'm thrilled and honored that it's included.
Charlene @ Adventures In Mommy Land says
Ooooh love these!!! Come join us on my linky party Hey Mom, Look What I Did at Adventures In Mommy Land…I would love to have you share these wonderful ideas!
An Ordinary Mom says
This is fabulous! I love how all these activities are in one place! Another fun thing we do with pumpkins is we clean out the inside, put in some potting soil, plant a flower and use it as a table centerpiece :) !!
Toddler Approved says
Such an awesome list!!! Now I totally need to whip out my pumpkins and start doing some things with them!
rainydaymum says
What a great selection of pumpkin activities
Anna @ The Imagination Tree says
what a GREAT collection!! thanks for sneaking us in there! :-)
Angelique Felix says
FABULOUS! Thanks again for all the work Jamie and make our lives as educators, parents easier, more fun and absolutely way more creative.
Angelique
Kristi @ Creative Connections for Kids says
Jamie – Love the layout of this page. Very easy to read. Thanks for sharing pumpkin guts! :) Kristi