It’s finally autumn! Hopefully where you are the leaves are turning beautiful hues and you’re enjoying the season! To me, nothing says autumn more than being surrounded by pumpkins! And, based on experience, I think a lot of Montessori students would agree! This pumpkin painting Montessori art project is a favorite among children (and teachers) every year!
Pumpkins add a festive touch during the fall holiday season, and this art activity gives you the chance to talk about plant life cycle or a number of other Montessori topics!
What I love most about this pumpkin painting Montessori art activity for kids is how easy it is! It’s a great alternative to carving pumpkins, which can be difficult or even dangerous to do with Early Childhood and Lower Elementary students. This project is very safe and lots of fun children of all ages.
Pumpkin Painting in the Classroom or Home
When you’re setting up this pumpkin painting project, you really only need three things: a pumpkin, painting supplies, and a painting space.
Picking a Pumpkin
First, your pumpkin. Any size pumpkin will work but try to choose one that has little to no blemishes—this will make painting easier and actually make the pumpkin last longer. Once your child picks the pumpkin they want, clean its surface gently with soap and water or a wipe. Then allow the pumpkin to air-dry or dry it with a cloth before painting.
Setting Up a Painting Space
The space you set up should be in an area where children can get messy. If you want to protect your floor, use a drop cloth. Make sure your students are also prepared for a little mess; they should be dressed in clothes that can get messy, some paints do not easily wash off clothes.
It’s much easier for kids to paint if the pumpkins are at eye level and on a flat and sturdy surface (like a table). You may want to put a drop cloth or old newspaper on top of that too.
Pumpkin Painting Art Supplies
Here’s everything you need for this art project:
- Clothes to get messy in; artist smocks and aprons work too
- Paint brushes – small ones for little pumpkins and large ones for bigger pumpkins (kids can paint with sponges and their fingers too!)
- Water jar – for washing brushes between paint colors
- Napkins – for paintbrushes and paint spills
- Baby wipes (optional) – I love having these around for quick clean-ups, they get all types of paint off kids’ skin, even acrylic
- Palette – to hold paints (paper plates and egg cartons work too)
Remember, this is a seasonal project and will only last the life of the pumpkin. So safe, non-toxic paints will work perfectly. I recommended using water-based paints like mineral paint, milk paint, acrylic paint or tempera when working with young kids.
You can choose whatever paint colors you have in your classroom, but I suggest using a mix of fall colors like green, white, red, orange, yellow, brown, and purple, which all stand out on a pumpkin.
Note: I recommend leaving black paint out of young children’s paint palettes. The smallest amount of black will turn all colors gray. Your child’s pumpkins will still look wonderful without black paint.
How To Present Pumpkin Painting Lessons
The best part about this project is that it’s so simple! Kids can have fun and their pumpkins will look fantastic no matter what! There aren’t any complicated instructions, just three steps.
- Squeeze out just a quarter-size dollop of paint, you can add more as you go along
- Demonstrate how to do simple strokes so children have an understanding of how to use the paintbrushes and other materials (like the water jars and napkins for cleaning their brushes)
- Leave the rest to them!
Where to Start: Pumpkin Painting
It’s important to let your kids explore and work independently with this project. Process-based learning is especially important for Early Childhood and Lower Elementary students.
However, it is okay to give them inspiration. Here are a few ideas:
- Purple paint for Dracula, monsters, or bats
- Green paint for witches, goblins, or aliens
- White paint for ghosts and spider webs
- With older children, you can include black paint for spiders and bats
While this is a painting project, you can also put out other art materials for students to use, such as googly eyes, recycled scraps, and raw or dried veggies to make funny faces.
https://spramani.lpages.co/painting-materials-checklistOne Step Further: Download My FREE Kids Painting Materials Checklist
I see so many teachers overcomplicate painting lessons. It really is simple though! As long as children have the right painting materials, they will learn! If you want a free downloadable version of the paint materials listed above (plus a few more), get my Kids Painting Materials Checklist now by clicking here.
Order painting curriculum, 57 brushstroke lessons
Once you see how much your students love this project, you’re going to want to include even more painting activities in your classroom! Students should be given ample time to just discover and experiment, but structured lessons can help them really improve their skills and become better artists! My Kids Painting Practice & Process Curriculum has 57 master lessons that take kids from setting up a paint station and holding a brush all the way to creating beautiful nature landscapes and painting different types of animals! Each lesson is featured as part of a sequence and includes all the information—materials, demonstration technique, and direct and indirect aims—so you can simply follow the instructions and easily present the activity to your students.
Kids Painting Practice & Process Curriculum sets the foundation for their art education and will help them transform into little artists! To purchase the curriculum, click here.
Check out my Kids Painting Book:
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