There is something so simple yet rewarding about making paper plate pumpkins. Â I know, because I sat down with my class and made my own paper plate pumpkin and found the process to be quite relaxing, creative, and fun…
Being an avid blog reader, I see some of the most amazing and even elaborate ideas that I would just love to share with the children in my classroom. But then I realize that sometimes, what my students need from me is the opportunity to make something simple…
We do quite a bit of art but most of the time it is focused on design, color mixing, or some kind of new tool or process that the children can explore but when I asked my students “Who wants to make a paper plate pumpkin” Â Every hand shot up in the air…
Although the process was simple, I will explain this part….
The paint is a mixture of orange washable tempera paint with a puddle of glue mixed in. This lets the children add a stem or or other paper features without having to wait for the paint to dry. Because the paint has glue mixed in, the pieces stick on nicely when the paint dries. Adding the glue to the paint also gives the paint a nice, thick and smooth texture that is somewhat shiny when wet and very pleasing to paint with…
As the children went to work creating their pumpkin, they used lots of descriptive words to describe what kind of pumpkin they were going to make. Like, “I am making a mean pumpkin.” or “My pumpkin has one square eye.” Or the children shared stories about going to the pumpkin patch to pick their own pumpkin and making a jack-o-lantern with mom or dad…
Some of the children chose to tear the construction paper into pieces and others chose to cut the paper with a pair of scissors. While the children cut or tore paper, they would ask me questions along the way about how to make a triangle which gave me the opportunity to give them tips on cutting different shapes….
Because the children already understood what a pumpkin was and had a good idea of how to make a pumpkin face, they spent more time in conversation with each other during the process and spent much more time focusing on the basic fine motor skill of cutting or tearing paper…
If you are like me and for some reason you are worried that making a paper plate pumpkin wouldn’t be “process oriented” enough then think again. I suppose if you cut out all the pieces for the children and insisted that the pumpkin must have triangle eyes, then the focus on process would be lost along the way. But if you are giving the children ample freedom to explore the process in their own way then making a paper plate pumpkin can add just as much value to the skill building process as one of those elaborate ideas floating around on Pinterest.
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Links to Grow On
Pumpkin Seed Soup by Teach Preschool
Pumpkin Suncatchers by Here Come the Girls
Tape Resist Pumpkins by Sew Sprout Play