It started with a pumpkin!

Yet another ‘we don’t do halloween but…’ post! Halloween seems to get bigger and bigger each year (or rather the halloween aisles in the shops do!) and we have been seeing pumpkins and images of pumpkin faces all month so Annabelle was keen to have a go at making her own. Although the traditional ‘Jack-o’-lanterns’ are carved like spooky faces, there are some fabulous ideas for carved scenes, patterns and pictures on the internet. I showed Annabelle a pre-approved selection (never trust a toddler with Google images without checking first!!) of pumpkins on Google Images and let her choose what she would like to do.

pumpkin carving

“This one Mummy!”

Annabelle chose a cat face, so we had a good look at the picture, and talked about the shapes and what they represent. We scooped out the seeds and pulp – Annabelle was fascinated by just how many seeds there were, so we decided to keep them for sensory play. Of course, she was keen to have a go with “Mummy’s grown up sharp knife” (her words not mine!) so we carved the lines together.

pumpkin carving

What’s inside?!

pumpkin carving

Scooping all the pulp out.

pumpkin carving

Using an apple corer for the eyes

We put a candle in straight away to see the effect but it was pretty bright outside at the time, so we had a good chance to talk about how the candle would look brighter in the dark. Later that night, we turned all the lights off and lit the candle again to have a proper look. Now, every evening, she anounces “Getting dark now, need to put the candle on Mummy!”

cat pumpkin

Meow!

Since we made our pumpkin lantern, Annabelle has also started taking a real interest in the difference between light and dark. She loves to shout to Dave as he gets in the car in the morning “Don’t trip over in the dark Daddy!” Yet again, our two year old has taken a fun activity, and given it a whole new direction to open up a new avenue of learning. Little people are so clever!

  1. Wow the pumpkin is amazing, how clever

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