Make a pumpkin patch with us! We turned some cut-in-half apples into pumpkin stamps. Such a fun and interactive way for kids and families to celebrate the fall season! This craft is ideal for kids ages 3-6.
Crafting is fun and can also positively impact children's development. These apple/pumpkin stamps are great fall-themed craft to improve kids' fine motor skills, creativity, counting skills, and even emotional regulation (through identifying and/or copying the pumpkins' emotions and facial expressions).
Pro tip: If your child needs extra support for dipping and stamping the apples, you can adapt the stamp by poking a fork into the apple to use as a handle.
Materials
You'll need:
- Orange (non-toxic) paint
- A paintbrush in case your stamp comes out uneven
- A tray for the paint
- 1-2 apples of different shapes/sizes, cut in half
- Liquid glue
- Green pipe cleaners, cut into 3 inch pieces (one piece per pumpkin)
- For the face:
- Googly eyes or
- A black marker or
- Black construction paper pre-cut into eyes, nose, and mouth
Instructions
- Squeeze some orange paint onto your paint plate and dip the apple in it.
- Stamp the apple onto the page. Make sure to press down hard all around so its even! Use hand-over-hand or poke a fork in the apple to use as a handle if your child needs some extra support. Stamp as many as you want or will fit the page!
- While the paint is still wet, add googly eyes to your pumpkins. If you're using paper cutouts for the face, now is the time to use them! If you're using a marker to draw the face, you can skip to the next step and wait until your pumpkins are nice and dry.
- Time to make the stems. Take your 3-inch pipe cleaners and curl them around your finger or a marker to make a curly vine. Using liquid glue, put a small dollop on each pumpkin where the stem will go. Then press your curly stems onto each dollop of glue.
- Wait for your pumpkin patch to dry and enjoy!
Here are some different ways to play. Have your child
- count the pumpkins
- practice identifying and copying the pumpkins emotions and facial expressions
- give each pumpkin a name
- add in their own scene by drawing trees, leaves, grass, etc.
By getting creative with the activity, you'll find tons of different learning opportunities.
