Kids Sunday School Thanksgiving Crafts: Stand up Pumpkin with message or prayer leaf

4 choices

Why would you carve a smiling face pumpkin?
Because we are glad that God grows our food.

Lots of choices depending on how little or how much time you want to allocate to this activity.

Harvest and Thanksgiving pumpkin to "carve" or not to carve depending on your age group. Really easy to stand up.

Optional pizzazz - add if you have patterned gift wrap, construction paper, scrapbooking paper or any other special paper. Way cool, but not vital to the project.

Leaf for your own prayer or message of thanks to God.

Make this an alternative to a halloween pumpkin! Influence the purpose and meaning towards the harvest and a glad heart.

Teacher
Choose from the 4 pumpkins below, which one your class will make:

1 Already crayon colored pumpkin with face
2 Pumpkin to color with face
3 Bright colored pumpkin with face
4 Pumpkin for coloring and to draw a face.

Already colored pumpkins should be printed on a color printer. Choosing already colored pumpkins make the project go must faster.

Print or print and copy activity page

Decide if you will be using any special paper
between the front and back of the pumpkin and if so,
print out the special inside pattern.

Decide if you will have your children cut out the
pumpkin leaf and write words of thanks or a prayer on it.

Separate cutting instructions for Preschool and Kindergarten

What foods do we get from the pumpkin?
- Pumpkin Pie
- Pumpkin Seeds

Tidbit: Did you know there are WHITE pumpkins? Yes, Really!

1 Above

4 and 5 above

The dark part of the eyes seen here are from lighting shadows!

Children instructions grade 1-4
BASIC SHAPE
1, Cut out the basic pumpkins shape (all as one piece)
DRAW A FACE
2. If you have a pumpkin with no face, draw a face
with shapes you can cut out.
COLOR
3. Color if you have chosen the pumpkin to color,
CUT THE FACE FEATURES
4. Cut out the face features
If you have a pre-printed face, pinch an eye on the
dashed line hold it, and cut through the fold.
5. Do the same for the other eye, nose and mouth.
For extra help in cutting see: Cutting Made Easy
SPECIAL PATTERN
6. Cut out the Special pattern if you are using special
paper inside the pumpkin (for a special effect)
7. Trace the special pattern onto whatever paper you
will be using.
8. Cut out your special paper.
(My example used magenta metallic paper)
9. Glue the special paper to the inside back of the pumpkin
FINISHING
10. Press the pumpkin on the 2 fold lines.
11. Cut out the pumpkin leaf and write your message of
thanks or your prayer on it.
12. Put a dot of glue on the end of the leaf stem.
13. Put glue on the insides of the pumpkin stem.
14. Put the leaf stem on the glue of one of the pumpkin stems.
15. Bring the pumpkin stems together (with the leaf between them)
You're done.

See through to the fancy paper in the back! Differences in room light will change the way the eyes, nose and mouth looks depending on the shadows and the angle you are looking at it.

FOR PRESCHOOL 4 and Kindergarten -

Younger children with minimum cutting experience
can cut out the double pumpkin shape.

Before they start, show the children where they are to cut by running your finger around the area the children are to cut. Be sure everyone is watching you!

No need to cut out the eyes and mouth
- just color over the dashed lines in the eyes, nose and mouth!

Optional : Teacher may pre-cut the leaf and write the message or prayer on the leaf.

Join in the older children instructions at # 10. to fold and glue.