Pumpkin carving is one of our favorite fall activities! The kids get to pick out their own pumpkin from the patch and design whatever face they want. They love getting to see the silly faces come to life as we light the candle under each jack o’lantern.
While we were carving pumpkins this year, I began to think of all the ways you can incorporate a lesson into this fun family activity. So, whether you’re homeschooling and need to log some hours, or just looking for a way to get involved with your child’s academics, here are 30 ideas to turn your pumpkin carving activity into a learning experience!
Math Skills
- Shapes– Have your child create and identify the shapes used to make the jack o’lanterns face.
- Counting– Have your child count the shapes they created or have them count the pumpkin seeds.
- Multiplication Practice- Use the seeds to practice skip counting, making arrays, or creating equal groups.
- Estimating Weight– Have your child estimate the weight of the pumpkin, then compare that to the actual weight.
- Converting Measurements– Have your kid convert the weight from pounds to ounces or convert the weight from the Customary System to the Metric System.
Science Skills
- Pumpkin Volcanoes– This is the traditional volcano experiment with a pumpkin twist! Create a chemical reaction using baking soda and vinegar inside of a pumpkin.
- Extracting DNA from Pumpkins– Check out this experiment from The Homeschool Scientist!
- Pumpkin Catapult– Create a catapult and launch baby pumpkins (or large ones if you’re feeling wild) You can then record you data in a science notebook.
- Density– Do pumpkins sink or float? Test it out and use this as an opportunity to learn about density.
- Force and Motion– Roll the pumpkin on different surfaces and record your observations.
- Life Cycles– Review the life cycle of a pumpkin and create a diagram using the pumpkin parts.
- Ecosystems/Habitats– Research where pumpkins grow best and what they need to survive.
- Pumpkin Rot- Cut open your pumpkin and make observations. Have your child use a science journal and use the scientific method to record their predictions/observations.
Reading/Writing Skills
- Story Time– Have your child write their own story about their pumpkin. This can be done as a fictional narrative or even a personal narrative about them picking/carving the pumpkin.
- Books– There are hundreds of pumpkin themed books for all ages! One of our favorites is Pete the Cat: Five Little Pumpkins. Check out these Preschool Pumpkin Themed Books!
- How-To Writing- Have your child write a how-to essay on how to carve a pumpkin. Encourage them to be descriptive and specific. Before I would start my How-To unit with my third graders, I always showed them this hilarious video to get them hooked and detail oriented.
- Word Play- Write pumpkin themed words on index cards. Have your child practice reading the words. You can tape toothpicks to the back of the index card and have your child label the different parts of the pumpkin.
Art Skills
- Painting- Maybe instead of carving the pumpkin, you paint the pumpkin! Or, use mini pumpkins and paint the bottoms. Have your child use the pumpkin as a stamp to create a beautiful painting. You can also paint the sides of the pumpkin and roll it to get a little different effect.
- Mosaic Art- Dry out the pumpkin seeds and paint them different colors. Have your child use those seeds to create a mosaic piece.
- Melted Crayon Art- If you have an old box of crayons laying around, use a hair dryer to melt them over your pumpkin. This will give your pumpkin some color and texture.
- Stamps- Use the cut-out pieces of your pumpkin to create stamps. You can carve different shapes out of the larger pieces. Dip your “Stamp” in some paint and get creative!
Life Skills
- Knife Skills– Use this activity to teach your child how to hold and use a knife appropriately.
- Safety- This one goes along with using the knife properly, but also talk with your child about how to safely handle pumpkins and carving tools. For example, what to do if the pumpkin is too heavy, how should you walk with a knife, using walking feet and do not run while holding the tools/pumpkin, etc.
- Cooking- Find a pumpkin recipe and get cooking! One of our favorites is Roasted Pumpkin Seeds.
- Gardening- If you have space, use the pumpkin guts to create more pumpkins! Here’s a post on how to save your pumpkin seeds for next season!
- Cleaning- Let’s be honest, pumpkin carving is MESSY. Use this as an opportunity to show your child how to clean and disinfect the area.
- Teamwork- This can go along with cleaning, or maybe you pair up siblings and have them work together to create a design for a pumpkin.
- Fine Motor Skills- There are lots of ways to incorporate fine motor skill activities into pumpkin carving. Have your child sort the seeds, using the carving tools/spoon is another way to promote hand dexterity.
- Creativity- Pumpkin carving promotes creativity as kids design their jack o’lantern faces. They may also get creative on how they choose to actually carve the pumpkin.
- Planning and Organizing- This is an incredibly important life skill. Your child can create a plan prior to carving their pumpkin. You can also promote organization by helping them keep their tools and cleaning supplies organized as they carve their pumpkin.
Love these ideas? Check out a unique way to carve your pumpkins on my Instagram/TikTok!