This easy and adorable Halloween paper plate pumpkin craft is perfect for little hands and big imaginations —no carving required, just paint and creativity!
How long are your kids in school? My son’s kindergarten class is only “half-day,” and therefore he is only in school 3 hours a day. And let me tell you, those 3 hours fly by in the blink of an eye.
After breakfast and cleaning up, my 3-year-old daughter and I have very little time to do something productive before we need to hop on our bikes and jet to school to pick up my son.
That’s why this simple paper plate pumpkin craft is the perfect Halloween craft for preschoolers. Not only is it easy to make, but it also uses materials you probably already have at home. With just a few supplies like paint, markers, and, of course, a paper plate, your little ones can create their very own pumpkin masterpieces.
You can draw your own jack-o’-lantern faces on these Halloween paper plate pumpkins with a marker. Or, you can also choose your favorite from the free printable set of pumpkin faces provided below to make your spooktacular pumpkin craft!
How to Make a Paper Plate Pumpkin Craft
Materials:
- Paper plate
- Orange marker (or crayon or paint)
- Construction paper (black, brown, and green)
- Scissors
- Glue
- Free pumpkin faces template (click on the image at the bottom of the post for the downloadable file)
Directions:
1. Use the orange marker and color one side of the paper plate orange. You can use a crayon or paint as well, but I find using a marker the fastest and least messy.
2. Cut out eyes and mouth for the pumpkin using black construction paper. You can also print out the free pumpkin faces template and mix and match the eyes, nose, and mouth to make your perfect paper plate pumpkin.
3. Glue the black eyes and mouth onto the paper plate.
4. Cut out the stem of the pumpkin using brown construction paper.
5. Glue the brown stem to the back of the paper plate.
6. Cut out two thin strips out of the green construction paper.
7. Wrap the thin green strips of paper around a pencil to make it curly.
8. Glue the green strips of paper onto the stem.
I will warn you, curling the stips of paper is really fun for three-year-olds. My daughter wanted to do it over and over again, so the pumpkin ended up looking like it has a head full of curly green hair.
Related Post: Easy and Fun Paper Plate Apple Craft
How did Pumpkins get Associated with Halloween?
Have you ever questioned why out of all fruits, pumpkins are associated with Halloween? Is it the orange color? The yummy seeds?
The original story of Halloween is from an Irish myth about a man named Stingy Jack (source). Long story short, Stingy Jack was no saint, but he was intelligent. He tricked the Devil not once but twice to promise to leave him alone and not claim his soul once he was dead.
However, once Stingy Jack died, God did not allow him into heaven due to his questionable character. Due to his deal with the Devil, Stingy Jack could not go to Hell either. Therefore, he was doomed to wander the nights on Earth, with a carved-out turnip with burning coal to light his way.
I know what you are thinking – TURNIP? That’s right. The first jack-o-lanterns were made out of turnips instead of pumpkins. It wasn’t until the immigrants arrived in America that carving pumpkins, a fruit native to American soil, became a Halloween tradition.
Looking for more easy Halloween crafts? Check out this fun flying paper tube bat craft!
Aren’t you glad you are not carving turnips for Halloween? Can you imagine?
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This is a simple Pumpkin craft for preschool kids!
I love your craft projects. I make them up for my daughter’s kindergarten class.The
children are so excited when they make something special. I make all the pieces and put them in small bags, each child has all the pieces and teacher has a finished one they can see.
Love your easy stem craft for toddlers.