Every year my kids’ school hosts the school pumpkin patch as part of the Fall Festival. Each classroom picks a book and decorates a pumpkin based on the book. If you are looking for a Halloween craft for your school or classroom, creating fun book-based pumpkins is an activity the kids will love. Here are five tips to help this project be a success:
1. Have The Kids Choose The Book
One of the most critical steps for making this activity fun and exciting for the children is to let them choose the book the pumpkin will be based on. You may choose to have the class nominate books and then vote, or the teacher may select the books for the class to vote on. Either way, the children will feel ownership of their pumpkin.
Source: Sun Post
2. Incorporate Your School’s Book Fair
Most schools around the country host a fall book fair to raise money and give students an opportunity to shop for books. If your school is looking for a fun book fair activity, decorating book themed pumpkins based on books offered at the book fair is a great idea. Students could vote on the best pumpkin in various categories like funniest, scariest, or best all around and win shopping money for the book fair as a prize.
Source: Pinterest
3. Let the Children Get Their Hands Dirty
It’s tempting to delegate the pumpkin decorating to a class parent, but letting the kids participate in the decorating is way more fun. This activity could take place as part of art class or as a classroom craft. Either way, make sure it’s the kids gluing, painting, and creating the pumpkin. Of course, if pumpkin carving is involved, adult supervision is necessary.
4. Read The Book Out Loud
As part of the process of selecting and decorating, don’t forget to read the book out loud to the class. This is the perfect compliment to the pumpkin decoration. Whether the kids choose a board book or chapter book, incorporating reading into the classroom is vital for the project to show students the joy of books.
Source: One Stop Party Ideas
5. Display Their Hard Work
Remember to display the class pumpkins for the school to see. Whether, like my kids’ school, you display the pumpkins as part of the Fall Festival, or you take pictures and put the pumpkins on the school website, children love to see the rewards of their hard work.
Source: Sweet P’s Class Notes
The possibilities are endless for what books may be used. From The Rainbow Fish to Fancy Nancy, let the students’ imaginations run loose.
What book would you choose to base your pumpkin on?
YouTube Channel: janet d’oliveira
Featured image via Graphic Stock
