Pumpkin Cutting Practice Jack-o-Lantern Craft

I set my daughter up with a scissor practice tray cutting up orange straws the other day. She loves doing this! Plus I thought the orange color coincided perfectly with Fall time and Halloween! Little did she know I had big plans for those cut up straws to be repurposed into a fun Pumpkin Jack-o-Lantern Craft. Today I’m sharing with you how to turn a cutting practice activity into a fun textured Pumpkin Craft for Halloween.

{This post contains affiliate links, read our Disclosure Policy for more information.}

Our favorite Halloween book which we combined this craft with is

Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman

It’s such a fun Halloween story about a Witch who wants to make pumpkin pie. Unfortunately, the pumpkin she had grown had become so huge that she can’t get it off the vine herself. Through different encounters with a ghost and other spooky creatures, the witch learns the value of cooperating and the joy of sharing.

PUMPKIN JACK-O-LANTERN CRAFT (with cutting practice)

Supplies you will need:

cardboard
scissors
orange paint
paintbrush
orange straws (we picked up a multi-pack of neon colors from Walmart and pulled out the orange ones)
school glue
black cardstock paper
brown cardstock paper

Directions:

1. Cut a pumpkin shape out of cardboard. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just a shape that resembles a pumpkin.

2. Paint your cardboard pumpkin orange. Set it aside to dry completely.

3. While your pumpkin is drying (or as my daughter did, you can do this the prior day as a completely separate activity) cut up a handful of orange straws. This is awesome cutting practice, not to mention is great hand to eye coordination as well. Sometimes the straws make a popping sound when you cut them and they fly up in the air and it’s a real hit with my preschooler.

4. Once your cardboard pumpkin is dry, spread school school on a small section of your pumpkin and start adding on your orange straws. Continue adding glue in small sections, following with adding the straws until the entire pumpkin is full. You are left with a fun textured pumpkin.

5. Cut a stem out of brown cardstock paper and glue it to the back of your pumpkin.

6. Finish your pumpkin by cutting a jack-o-lantern face out of black cardstock paper and gluing it onto the top of your straws. I cut this face out for my preschooler, but this is something a preschooler could easily do themselves as well for even more cutting practice.

This post is part of a collaborative Creative Preschool series where 4 bloggers and myself have joined together to bring you fun crafts and activities based on a common preschool learning theme. This week we are sharing ideas focused on Halloween.

Check out the other Halloween Ideas from the other Creative Preschool Bloggers:

M is for Monster (Math & Science) | Artsy Momma

5 Little Pumpkins | A Little Pinch of Perfect

Owl Halloween Craft | Handmade Kids Art

Halloween Ghost Splat Painting | Pink Stripey Stocks