Light Up Pumpkin {Paper Plate Craft}

Like the other male in my family, my four year old son doesn't see the point in crafts that are merely decorative. He likes his crafts (which we call projects) to do something.  He really liked our Old Bear project because it moved, and he loves jack o' lanterns, so this was a guaranteed hit (which is usually the kiss of death, but in this case he really did like it.)


This requires more steps than our usual projects, but it was very easy and we did a little each day.

All you need for this project is:

• 3 paper plates
• Orange, black, and yellow (or glow in the dark) paint
• Metal fastener
• Green construction paper
• Green curling ribbon (optional)
• Scissors, paint brush or sponge

1. Paint one of the plates orange and divide another into quarters. Paint alternating quarters black and yellow.  I put a dot of paint in each section so my four year old would know what color to paint it.

2. Divide the third plate into quarters and cut one out.  I laid this over the orange plate and used it as a guide for my son.  First he drew two eyes in the top quarter, then we turned it and he drew a mouth in the bottom quarter.

3.  I cut out the eyes and mouth from the orange paper plate. (Apparently I'm a little inflexible about how I think jack-o'-lanterns should look.  It was harder for me than it should have been to follow the lines he drew and not cut the eyes into triangle shapes.)

Add a green construction paper stem and green curling ribbon to the orange paper plate.

5.  Lay the orange plate on top of the black and yellow plate and attach them in the middle with a metal fastener.

Now when you turn the bottom plate it should look like the jack-o'-lantern turns on and off.  Glow in the dark paint would make this even more fun.

A cute interactive book to read with this cute interactive craft is Spooky Boo! A Halloween Adventure, which is not really spooky at all.  Preschoolers and toddlers can lift the flaps and peer into mirrors in this fun book.