Halloween is right around the corner, and we have some preschool pumpkin craft suggestions for you and your little one to embrace the holiday. These activities provide fine motor skill practice including tying knots and bows which will come in handy for shoelace-tying later on!

Jack-o-Lantern Lacing

Materials

• Wool yarn or ribbon
• Single hole punch
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Card stock or poster board

Instructions

1. Adults: Print a Jack-o-Lantern template here. Allow children to trace the template onto a piece of card stock or poster board. 
2. Adults: Cut out the card stock shapes and punch holes around their shape about an inch or two apart.
3. Provide children with a length of wool or ribbon and have them thread it through the holes. You can wrap some scotch tape around the end of the wool to make it more like a shoelace. 
4. Practice tying knots and/or bows to tie off in the center.
5. Let children use glitter, paint or stickers to further decorate their project!

Pumpkin Face Mask

Materials

• Paper plate
• Orange paint, construction paper, or marker
• Black paint, construction paper, or marker
• Green construction paper
• Popsicle stick or craft stick
• Glue or tape

Instructions

1. Allow children to paint or color the paper plate orange, or glue orange construction paper onto it. Rip 1-inch squares of paper and glue them on with a mixture of ½ water and ½ children’s white glue. Let dry.
2. Allow children to paint, color, or glue on black mouth and nose after an adult cuts shape.
3. Allow children to place a green stem at the top after the adult cuts the shape.
4. Adults: Cut out triangular eyeholes. Allow children to glue or tape the popsicle stick or craft stem.

Pumpkin Treat Carton

Materials

• An empty 2-liter (or ½ gallon) milk carton
• Black construction paper
• Orange construction paper
• Green construction paper
• Glue or tape
• Scissors

Instructions:

1. Adults: Cut out two triangular eyes, a triangular nose and a mouth from black construction paper. Cut leaves from green construction paper.
2. Adults: Cut off the top of a milk carton and discard. You can cut off as much as you’d like, it simply depends on how tall your child would like the container to be.
3. Allow children to cover the carton with orange construction paper. It takes about two pieces to cover completed with glue and/or tape.
4. Allow children to tape or glue the eyes, nose, mouth, and leaves onto the front.
5. Once the container is decorated and ready, adults can cut out a strip of construction paper about 10 inches long and glue to the sides of the container to use as a handle.

Pumpkin Patch

Materials:

• Empty egg carton
• Orange paint
• Black paint for face (optional)
• Paintbrush
• Green pipe cleaners

Instructions:

1. Adults: Turn over the egg carton and allow children to paint the 12 curved portions for pumpkins. 
2. Adults: Use a small item (i.e. a push pin) to pierce holes on top of painted portions. Cut 12 half-inch pieces of green pipe cleaner for children to use as pumpkin stems. 
3. Allow children to push small pieces of the pipe cleaner through holes to create a pumpkin patch. 
4. For extra fun, allow children to paint jack o lantern designs on the individual pumpkins! 

Tissue Paper Pumpkin

Materials:

• 1 piece of orange tissue paper
• 1 piece of green tissue paper
• Glue
• Print a pumpkin template here, or draw your own outline

Instructions:

1. Allow children to tear orange and green tissue into small pieces. 
2. Allow children to squeeze glue onto the pumpkin and spread over the template. 
3. Allow children to cover the template with pieces of tissue paper to create a pumpkin. 

Beaded Pipe Cleaner Pumpkin

Materials:

• Orange pipe cleaner
• Green pipe cleaner
• Orange and Green beads
• Scissors

Instructions:

1. Allow children to place orange beads onto an orange pipe cleaner, leaving about half an inch on each side. 
2. Adults: Twist the two ends together to secure and form a circle. 
3. Adults: Cut a 2-3 inch piece of green pipe cleaner for the pumpkin stem. Twist and secure green pipe cleaner between two orange beads on the pumpkin. Allow children to string green beads onto the green pipe cleaner. 
4. Adults: Bend the end of the green pipe cleaner to secure green beads. 

Editors note: This article was originally published on October 11th, 2017.