8 Pumpkin Carving Tips for Kids [Sponsored by Pumpkin Masters]

 

Our Family Pumpkin Carving Fun + Pumpkin Carving Tips for Kids

Halloween has got to be right up there as one of my favorite holidays.  It’s so fun with the creative Halloween costumes and the pumpkin carving and decorating.  For the past few years, since the kids were so young, we’ve stuck primarily to safer pumpkin decorating instead of carving.  But this year Pumpkin Masters sent us some pumpkin carving kits to inspire us to take the leap into full on pumpkin carving.  Here’s some of the pumpkin carving fun we had…

 

We set up our family pumpkin carving “event” outside since it was a nice day.  The kids picked their pumpkins and then we got started scooping the “guts” out.  Even with the handy scoops that came in the kits, they weren’t too excited about the feel or smell of it.

 

As I cleaned out the insides of the pumpkins, the kids had fun picking out their designs from the Pumpkin Masters Patterns.  And I threw the pumpkin “guts” and seeds in a bin with some mini pumpkins and little plastic toys for J.C. to explore and have some sensory play while we carved.  (He had more fun cleaning and sorting the pumpkins than touching the slimy “guts.”  I guess he takes after his big brother and sister!)

 

After the pumpkins were all cleaned out (by mom!), the kids loved using the little poking tools to transfer their patterns onto their pumpkins.  And I was happy that it was such a great fine motor skill activity for them, too!

 

To be honest, I was still a cautious mama that did most of the carving.  But Sawyer was able to cut out the middle of his spider design with the chunky little saw from the kids’ kit.  He was really proud, and it was great knife safety practice for him.

 

We had such a fun time during our first Family Pumpkin CARVING experience thanks to Pumpkin Masters.  Here’s some more of our fun…

 

8 Pumpkin Carving Tips for Kids

I checked with the creative B-Inspired Blogger mamas to see what pumpkin carving tips they had for fun and save carving with kids.  Here’s what they had to say…

1. Let the Kids Draw the Face 
   “Last year my husband and son drew the face on our pumpkin, then my husband helped my son use a drill to make pilot holes in each of the jack-o-lantern’s features. Then my hubby used a drywall saw and had our pumpkin carved in no time at all!” Tanya of Finding the Teachable Moments
   
2. Let Your Toddler Tell You Shapes
   “For my toddler we asked, ‘What shape do you want for the eyes, nose, etc.’ We cut, but she got to be the mastermind behind the design in a way that led to progress.” Jaimi of The Stay-At-Home-Mom Survival Guide
3. Get the Kids Scoopin’
   “I score out the inside of the pumpkin with a sharp knife then give my daughter a scoop to get the middle out. Even at almost 4 she loves to help.” Clare of Emmy’s Mumm
4. Distract the Little Ones
   “I knew that little J.C. wouldn’t be able to help with the carving.  So I used the pumpkin ‘guts’ and some mini pumpkins to make a fun sensory bin to keep him entertained.” Krissy of B-Inspired Mama 
5. Try a Drill!
   “We used a hand drill last year because Goblin was a bit young to use a knife.” The Monko of Taming the Goblin
6. Make Cleanup a Game
   “To facilitate an easy clean up after carving our pumpkins we cut on spread out newspaper and we try to make it a game of who can clean up the most as we go along so that we are cleaning up as we go instead of waiting until the very end.” Jill of Enchanted Homeschooling Mom
7. Keep Your Expectations in Check
   “Don’t set your expectations too high. When carving pumpkins, kids just want to have fun and do there own thing. Don’t worry about the mess or the lack of detail. Even though you may want a really great design, your child might be happy with a couple of crooked holes and a square mouth. It’s okay. If you want to control the design, buy yourself a pumpkin to do on your own and let your child control theirs.” Heather of Local Fun for Kids
8. Try a Pumpkin Masters Carving Kit

Have Some Family Pumpkin Carving Fun with Pumpkin Masters, Too!

If you want to have some family pumpkin carving fun, too, you can purchase Pumpkin Masters Kits at your local grocery, drug, or craft store, and nationally at Target and Walmart.  Then make sure to enter your pumpkin creations in Pumpkin Masters Carving Contest!  It’s easy; just share a pic of your carving via Instagram or Twitter with #PumpkinMasters2013, submit via the Facebook app or send via email to: social@pumpkinmasters.com to enter for the chance to win one of six prizes, including $5,000 for the Best Pumpkin.  The contest runs from October 1 – 31, 2013 and contest details and official rules can be found at http://clvr.li/pumpkinmasters2013.

Or if you’re feeling lucky… Pumpkin Masters has graciously offered one of their pumpkin carving kits (valued at to one lucky winner.  Just enter here…

a Rafflecopter giveaway

So, tell me, do you decorate or carve pumpkins with your kids?  If you carve, what are your best pumpkin carving tips for kids?  Let me know in the comments below. 

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I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.