This pumpkin process art is such a fun addition to your list of preschool pumpkin activities. You may have heard of painting with apples or potatoes in the fall. They’re both pretty common fall art art activities. But pumpkins? That’s a new one!
The kids are going to absolutely LOVE this pumpkin project. On top of having a ton of fun, students will also get sensory input as they clean out the guts, paint with pumpkins, and sprinkle some yummy-smelling pumpkin spice as the finishing touch!
Related: Pumpkin Crafts for Preschoolers
This pumpkin process art activity is of course wonderful for fall, but can be enjoyed other times of the year too. It’s great for Halloween, during a preschool pumpkin theme, or even during a fruit and vegetables theme! Or you could even use it in the spring when you talk about gardening and planting seeds.
If you’re a regular reader of Fun-A-Day, you know how much I love process art. There are so many benefits to focusing on the process rather than the product. Of course, more often than not, the final product ends up being pretty great too!
Art that’s more process-focused lets the kids really show off their creative sides. They can test out new materials or explore well-known materials in new or different ways. I also find it super interesting to see what different children will do with the same materials. Some children seek to create very specific images, while others focus more on exploring the materials.
For more information, check out my post on process art that explains what it is and why it’s important.
Pumpkin Process Art
Our pumpkin-themed art was inspired by one of my preschool classes that LOVED anything and everything scented. They had a blast painting with apples and adding apple pie spice. So we decided we had to try another version of that but with pumpkins.
Pumpkin Art Materials
You really don’t need much to make these pumpkin paintings come to life! Please note that I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
- Small Pumpkins – real pumpkins are best, but plastic pumpkins and gourds work well too!
- Orange Tempura Paint
- Pumpkin Pie Spice
- White Construction Paper
Related: Pumpkin Seed Activities
Process Art With Pumpkins
To start things off, set out the pumpkins for your students. I highly suggest cutting some in half AND leaving some whole. This will really let the children explore as they create.
Next, pour some paint into shallow trays or plates. We stuck with orange, at the kids’ request. But you can add in other colors based on the children’s input and your own preferences.
If you want to add the spice right away, you can have that available from the start. Otherwise, save it for after the children have painted and explored.
Then it’s time to let your students have fun with the process of pumpkin painting!
I really enjoyed seeing the different way my students used the pumpkins to paint. Some painted by stamping the cutoff top of the pumpkin onto the paper.
Others took the whole pumpkins and stamped with the bottoms.
Related: Pumpkin Magic Milk
The process that seemed to be the most fun to me was rolling the pumpkins on their sides. As one of the kids said, “Hey, it looks just like footprints! Except it’s not. It’s like pumpkin footprints!”
Related: Pumpkin Sensory Bin
Once the kids painted with the pumpkins, I let them add the pumpkin pie spice to complete the art projects. Oh, they just loved this part! Some of them added just a touch of the spice, while others went a little wild with it. Either way, it made the artwork (and the classroom) smell delicious!
Why Pumpkin Process Art?
This was such a fun experience for the kiddos, and that’s what process art is meant to me . . . FUN!
Each of the children used the same materials: mini pumpkins, orange paint, and pumpkin pie spice. Yet each of the kids made a completely different piece of pumpkin process art.
Each of them also got something different out of the experience. Some spent a lot of time exploring the sensory aspect of it — adding the spices, then smelling them, then adding more.
Others were very focused on watching the prints made by the pumpkins. Still others just loved getting messy and playing with the paint.
Let me know if you give this pumpkin process art a try!
Done-for-You Preschool Resources
Let Preschool Teacher 101 make your teaching life a whole lot easier! We save you time with fully-developed, age-appropriate lesson plans that are done for you!
After the pumpkin process art, continue learning about pumpkins with our printable lessons. It comes with over 30 playful learning activities related to the theme, detailed daily plans, weekly lesson plans, book suggestions, center ideas, whole group and small group activities, and related printables!
Here are some other pumpkin and fall resources you might enjoy. Click on the images to find out more!
Pumpkin Books for Kids
Of course I can’t leave without sharing some book ideas that pair well with the pumpkin art activity! Here are some pumpkin books for you to enjoy at home or during preschool circle time.
Originally published October 2013.
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