Use yarn and ribbons to wrap around pumpkins, for a bright and beautiful alternative to pumpkin carving this Autumn season! Great for fine and gross motor co-ordination skills, as well as encouraging creativity and the opportunity to work on a larger scale.
We have been decorating lots of pumpkins over the past few weeks, for creating an Autumn display in our home. Pumpkins make a fantastic, three-dimensional art medium, offering plenty of ways to paint, adorn, decorate and wrap! They’re also the perfect size for young hands to work on and take ownership of and the results are as open-ended as the imaginations working on them.
C. and I took on this pumpkin decorating project together and she wanted to wrap her own pumpkin completely independently! So we sat side by side and I offered help only when she asked for it. Starting with a piece of tape over one end of the yarn/wool or ribbon, we attached it to the underside of the pumpkin and then she started to wind it around.
She needed some help keeping the tension tight as she wrapped, but loved the effect of criss-crossing and overlapping the colours and patterns.
Baby Bean adored the finished pumpkin master-pieces and rolled the yarn wrapped pumpkin on the floor, enjoying the soft textures and bright, sparkly colours! These are now displayed alongside the glitter and confetti pumpkin on the dining room table, ready for more Autumn fun ahead!
This activity can teach your child:
hand-eye co-ordination, working on different media, creating art in 3-dimensions, fine motor skills, gross motor co-ordination, exploring textures and materials, learning new vocabulary (over-lap, wrapping)
Cakie: 4.1
Pop: 2.6
Bean: 7 mos
You may also like our Drip Art Pumpkins!
What other ways have you decorated pumpkins or seasonal fruits?
Oooh we have been working with wool today and it made Red Ted so happy! I love your pumpkins another wonderful idea for small hands and pretty Autumn crafts and decoration!
such a great idea!
I never saw that before – how clever!! Great for fine motor control practice and each pumpkin looks different and unique. Thanks for sharing this idea. Renee
Lovely Anna, as always :-))
That’s such a clever idea, especially for me as I’m rubbish at carving pumpkins!
Love it! We will try this tomorrow! We’ve been using our pumpkins as nature’s dry erase board — this is another great way to stall on the great pumpkin carving event!