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Every fall, I ask myself what are simple, fun, and educational pumpkin activities to do with my son. We attend fall festivals in our county and get at least 4 pumpkins annually. This year, I was looking for activities that DID NOT require me to purchase more craft supplies from the store. I wanted to use items that we had on hand.
Below is what we did and had a blast!
Paint The Pumpkin
Materials Needed
- Washable Paint
- Paint Brushes
- Pumpkin
- Newspaper/ Magazine pages or cloth
- 2 Sturdy Paper Plates
- Cup of Water
- Napkins
- Put Newspapers or cloth on table for easy clean-up
- Put water in cup to clean paint brushes.
- Put napkins in paper plate #1 to clean and dry paint brushes.
- Put small sections of various color paints on paper plate # 2.
- Place pumpkin on table with newspaper/magazine paper or cloth.
- Let your child be creative and paint the pumpkin.

Pick, Count, and Cook Pumpkin Seeds
Materials Needed
- Pumpkin cut into 4 equal parts (adults should do this)
- Bowl for seeds
- Spoon to scoop seeds out
- Cutting Board or Pan for Pumpkin
- Place pumpkin on cutting board or pan in front of child.
- Give the child a spoon and have them scoop out the seeds.
- If they are having difficulty using the spoon, have them use their hands.
- Instruct child to put seeds in bowl.
- Have the child count the seeds while scooping.
- Another option is for the child to count the seeds at the end of the activity.
- Roast the pumpkin seeds for a great snack!

Make Pumpkin Soup with Rice
Materials Needed
- Pumpkin Soup Recipe (vegan alternatives included in recipe)
- Optional – Pumpkin Soup: A Picture Book by Helen Cooper (A Great Book for Kids)
- Follow our Pumpkin Soup with Rice Recipe.
- Have fun eating it with your family!
Access Our Pumpkin Soup with Rice Recipe
at the bottom of this post!
Have a Science Lesson and Learn about Decomposition
Materials Needed (please note this activity came from Sid the Science Kid Season 1 Episode 6 called Mushy Banana)
- Pumpkin that you painted in the first activity of this post (must be decayed)
- Large Container or Large Zip lock bag
- Plastic gloves
- Magnifying glass
- Watch Sid the Science Kid Mushy Banana Episode
- Once the painted pumpkin has started to decay put it in a large plastic bag or container.
- Let the pumpkin decompose until it changes colors.
- Put plastic gloves on the child before touching pumpkin.
- Stay close to the child to ensure they don’t put the pumpkin in their mouth.
- Have the child feel the pumpkin and compare it to a fresh pumpkin.
- Have the child take a closer look by using their magnifying glass.
- Ask the child the following questions…
- How is the pumpkin different from the fresh pumpkin?
- How does it smell?
- What colors do you see?
- How does it feel?
- Put Pumpkin in the compost when complete.


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