Pumpkin Painting

Pumpkin Painting Ideas

You can have great fun painting a face on a real pumpkin to decorate it, but why not invite your child to paint a pumpkin picture on paper that will last much longer? Use paint, paper, and a simple fold for an art project that can lead into a discussion about symmetry.

What you need:

• a large sheet of paper
• paints in pumpkin colors (orange, brown, green, etc.)
• paint brushes
• a smock
• optional: a pumpkin model for inspiration!

What you do:

• Fold the sheet of paper in half and put it down with the fold on the left.
• Have your child put on the smock and use the paints and brush to paint half a pumpkin on the still-folded sheet of paper (the middle of the pumpkin should touch the fold). He or she can use a real pumpkin as a model. If your child needs help picturing what half a pumpkin looks like, you can trace an outline of half a pumpkin with pencil as a general shape guide.
• While the paint is still wet, unfold the paper flat and then gently fold it the other way (like closing a book) so that the wet paint smears on the unpainted side of the paper and makes a picture of a whole pumpkin.

What you can talk about:

• Explain that when an object is symmetrical, it has exactly the same shape on both sides. If you draw a line down its middle, both halves will be the same.
• Discuss how your child’s painting is symmetrical.
• Discuss whether all pumpkins are symmetrical, and look in books or in real-life for examples of pumpkins that have grown lopsided.
• For extra fun, fold a sheet of orange construction paper in half, cut out the shape of half a pumpkin (with the center of the pumpkin in the paper’s fold), and unfold the paper to reveal a whole, symmetrical pumpkin.

Useful Pumpkin Painting Tools

Pumpkin Painting Stencils

Pumpkin Painting Patterns

Pumpkin Face Painting Kit