If you are looking for pumpkin carving for beginners then you are in the right place. I was in Jack O lantern obliviousness last year and wasn’t sure where to start. What I did know though, was that my children really wanted to cut Pumpkins for Halloween. If you plan to do this activity with a preschooler I have included a few tips for you.
How To Carve A Pumpkin With Kids
I missed out on many years of fun pumpkin carving sessions because I always heard about how messy and difficult it was. Well, if it was THAT difficult… why is everyone still doing it? After visiting the local pumpkin patch I knew that I wanted to give it a try with my eager kids. I purchased a few small pumpkins thinking that it would be easier for our first time.
Yes, it was easier… but… I also wish we had bought ourselves a big one too.. that would have been fun also!
For first time, try a small one (and get a big one to carve after you’ve attempted it and seen how easy the process is.
Knowing that I was inexperienced, I set out to find carving tools that would make the whole process that much easier. I needed one less thing to worry about. The pumpkin carving kit is AMAZING and I think anyone who wants to do this should buy a set now so that you can re-use it yearly.
Materials Required:
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– A pumpkin.
– Pumpkin Carving Kit
– Pumpkin Light – Candles can be a fire hazard so if you plan to light them, please use an LED light instead. If you want one that flickers like a candle then this one is great.
Consider Safety!
Safety Warning: Please note that the tools used for Pumpkin Carving are very sharp. Because of this, I do not recommend children under the age of 12 do the carving themselves. My seven and nine year olds were able to do one eye with VERY close supervision from me. My 3 year old didn’t even get to see the carving tools.
Always prep your materials before you begin. The last thing you want is to have dirty hands running all over the house dripping everywhere because you forgot a tool.
If you would like to use a carving template you can find them on Google here. I opted to let my kids decide what they wanted to do and work with common shapes instead.
Step One: Cut a circle around the top of the pumpkin. Scoop out all the seeds inside and clean out the inside of the pumpkin.
For step one, I did this part while the kids were at school. I had my trash nearby and my kitchen sink. Next time, I am going to let my kids do this part. Use newspaper or spread a trash bag on your table for easy clean up.
Wondering what to do with those pumpkin seeds? Check out these pumpkin seed ideas or simply roast them!
Step Two: Draw your face or picture with a pencil.
My children first drew their pattern on their pumpkin using a pencil. This allowed them to erase mistakes when necessary. We drew triangles for the eyes and nose.
If using a small pumpkin, make sure that you don’t make the teeth too thin. If you do, they will break off while you are cutting.
Template Carving Tip: You could use Elmer’s glue to help you affix the pattern to the pumpkin.
Once they were done and had finalized their shapes they went over it with a sharpie marker.
Step Three: Begin Carving/Cutting out the shapes.
I cut outside their lines so that I wasn’t left with pencil markings. Plus, the wider the shapes were the easier it was for me to cut.
This part is really hard for kids and can dangerous. I allowed my 7 and 9-year-old kids to do one eye each while literally standing above them. Then, I took over.
Once they are done you can display them!
If you want to add lights in them I included links above to the ones I recommend. Not ready to use a pumpkin? Then try carving an orange!
Do you have any pumpkin carving tips?
Looking for more Halloween activities? Then check these out:
GET THE PUMPKIN ACTIVITIES PACK
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