Pumpkin Crafts For Preschoolers

Inside: 25 pumpkin crafts for preschoolers, categorized by type of material used.

I love that look of utmost concentration preschoolers get when they’re busy crafting. They’re working those fine motor muscles so hard! And as little scientists, they’re fascinated with the results.

All they need to get started is a little bit of inspiration, plus some engaging materials. Lucky for us this month, October is full of inspiration!

First up – pumpkins! Grab their attention for your preschool pumpkin theme with one of these 25 adorable pumpkin crafts.

To start off, I’m excited to share one of my Halloween puppets with you here. For this pumpkin one, preschoolers can paint the popsicle stick and wind on the stem. You may need to help them glue on the tiny face and adjust the stem.

Then, when the kids finish crafting, you can support their language development by encouraging story retelling and pretend play with their new pumpkin puppet.

Pumpkin Crafts for Preschoolers by Materials Used

There are so many other pumpkin crafts for preschoolers. Below you’ll find some of my favorites. I’ve organized them for you by the type of material used so that you can easily find the perfect one!

Pumpkin Crafts For Preschoolers. These preschool crafts are perfect for Halloween or Fall at home or in your classroom. They are simple crafts for kids so that both you and kids will enjoy! #halloweencraft #pumpkincraft #fallcraftsforkids #preschoolcrafts

Paint

These cute jack-o-lanterns use fruit rather than a pumpkin. This non-jack-o-lantern one is cute too.
Another creative way to create pumpkins is by using a fist bump as a stamp. This is too cute!
Next, try a fun STEAM activity turned into a fall decoration with this fascinating salt painting process.
Finally, see the no-carve pumpkins section below for a couple more ideas that use paint.

Clay

You can create these adorable pumpkins with air dry clay. This is a fun way to encourage children to be creative and create their own faces on pumpkins!
No craft is sweeter for parents than one with their little one’s handprints in clay. They’ll want these pumpkin handprint keepsakes to last a lifetime.

Paper & Paper Products

If your kids are like mine, they’d carve pumpkins every day of October if I’d let them. Since I won’t, these printable jack-o-lanterns would be a fabulous second option!
Construction paper creates these adorable paper pumpkins. With a few extra embellishments, you can make a jack-o-lantern too.
Upside down paper cups make perfect pumpkin crafts for preschoolers. I love the creative way that these can ‘light up’ too!
Another winning pumpkin craft with paper is this Mosaic Pumpkin. You could even do this one with toddlers and very young preschoolers.
Crafts can help children learn, too! This paper plate pumpkin helps teach kids about emotions and facial expressions.
This craftivity is great for encouraging storytelling. Kids can spin the wheel to see which character the jack-o-lantern will be. This will be loved!
Scrunching paper can be done by almost any age, so this pumpkin craft is great for children. This will also help with gluing skills!
Another super cute paper plate craft is to paint on jack-o-lanterns. Kids can create as many as they’d like without ever having to use a knife!

Contact Paper

Suncatchers are a fun way to dress up any window for all of the holidays and seasons. These feature pumpkins and their cousin the gourd. This is a fantastic preschool craft!
Contact paper also makes an appearance in this polka-dotted pumpkin craft. Not only is this super adorable but it will help strengthen fine motor skills as well.

Magnets

Take care that magnets don’t end up in little mouths.

Your little ones can create these magnetic felt and foam pumpkins over and over. They’re great for children of all ages!
Magnets are an easy way to add extra seasonal touches at home or in the classroom. In this pumpkin craft, preschoolers personalize their pumpkins with buttons in the cutest way!

No-Carve Pumpkins

Washi tape is a great craft supply because it isn’t permanent. For example, kids can decorate and redecorate pumpkins over and over with this washi tape technique!
Do your kids like creating gingerbread houses in the winter? They will LOVE this candy decorated pumpkin for fall! This one would be fun for all ages.
Another engaging painting activity is to use marshmallows to create polka dots with paint on pumpkins. These are too cute!
Finally, painting pumpkins has become increasingly popular in the last few years. It can be much simpler than carving AND you can paint the pumpkins with themes inspired by children’s books.

Recycled Material

These sweet Halloween characters make a perfect set of Halloween decorations made by kids. Even better, you make them mostly with recycled materials.
I enjoy making crafts that we can use as decorations year after year. These pumpkins are made from a jar, which is inexpensive AND super cute!
Weaving strengthens finger muscles and helps with the early math skill of following a pattern. If you’re able to work one-on-one with your preschoolers, try out weaving with these adorable soda bottle pumpkins.

Now I want to make a jack ‘o lantern preschooler with giant googly eyes concentrating on making one of these crafts. Maybe he’d be holding scissors. Hmmm…I think that’s an idea for a bulletin board. What do you think?

Happy Teaching,

25 Adorable Pumpkin Crafts For Preschoolers