Toddler Art Class: Pumpkin Prints

 Who needs paintbrushes when you've got gourds?

Art Project:  Painting with Pumpkins
Supplies:
a variety of mini-pumpkins and other winter squash
paint
cardboard or heavy paper

Book:
Five little pumpkins /  

 

Music to make art by: 

Mama Don't Allow by Fox & Branch

 What Kids Do: 

Use the pumpkin to transfer paint to the cardboard or paper.   They can swipe it around like a regular paintbrush, or press-and-lift like a rubber stamp.

Or just paint the pumpkins!

Some kids even left out the pumpkin and just painted with their hands.

Hindsight Tips: 
--I had originally intended to give them all three primary colors to work with, but in the end, I'm glad I stuck with just red and yellow.  It reinforces the concept that those two colors make orange, plus all the resulting shades are just so lovely and autumnal!
--This was a quick project for every class session.  Most kids only engaged with the project for a short period of time before they were ready to go wash their hands.  But that didn't necessarily mean they didn't enjoy the project, just that it didn't take long to fill up that piece of cardboard with such a big "brush"!

 Adult Challenge:  Follow your kid's lead (i.e. if they're done after three minutes of painting, wash up and go home!  Or if they want to paint with the stem instead of the bumpy ridges, by all means let them do so instead of trying to direct their actions.)