Pumpkin Patch Maze Preschool Craft
Create this mini pumpkin patch maze for creative, fine motor play with a fall theme. Roll pompom seeds around the pumpkins in this hands-on STEAM activity.
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Have you ever visited a pumpkin patch in the fall?
It's a great opportunity to have a field trip with your early learners!
A visit to a pumpkin patch at a local farm can be a fun adventure at harvest time: tramping through the vines in the fresh air; experiencing the wonder of nature; enjoying the task of choosing and carving a pumpkin.
Harvest activities can be extended to crafts and activities in the classroom. Create this simple maze with recyclable materials for kids to explore pumpkins in the pumpkin patch.
Pumpkin patch maze
This pumpkin patch is made with recycled creamers on a recycled foam tray. That's a lot of materials saved from the landfill.
This activity is great for engaging fine motor and STEM skills as kids build the maze and maneuver the pompom seed through the pumpkin patch.
Related: Modeling Clay Maze on a recycled foam tray.
Supplies
- mini creamers
- orange paint
- felt
- artificial leaves
- foam tray
- glue gun
Instructions
1. Paint the recycled creamers.
Paint the creamers orange. They might take two coats of paint.
Let dry between coats.
2. Add a felt stem to each mini pumpkin.
Cut out a small rectangular piece of felt for a stem.
Glue a stem to the top of each pumpkin.
- Option: Poke a small hole in the top of each creamer and insert the felt stem.
You can also add green felt leaves next to the stems.
3. Glue the pumpkins to the foam tray.
Run a bead of glue along the bottom edge of the creamer with a glue gun.
Arrange the little pumpkins of the foam tray with enough space between them to allow a pompom to roll around the pumpkin patch.
- Option: Use a cardboard box or box lid instead of a foam tray. This might be easier for younger children to handle.
If kids are helping with the glue, a kid-friendly glue gun is a great option. Naturally you will want to supervise young children with this part of the project. You can also try regular white school glue.
4. Decorate the pumpkin patch.
Glue a few artificial leaves from the dollar store into the pumpkin patch.
They add color and creativity to the pumpkin patch. They also present an additional challenge when rolling the pumpkin seed around the pumpkin patch!
You could also draw vines and leaves on the foam tray with a marker.
5. Add the pumpkin seed.
Drop a yellow pompom into the tray with the pumpkins.
- Option: You could use a marble for a seed, but it tends to roll off the sides of the foam tray more easily than the pompom. It would be more suitable for a maze inside a cardboard box or box lid,
6. Roll the pumpkin seed through the pumpkin patch!
Hold the tray with two hands and rock it back and forth to roll the pompom seed around the pumpkin patch.
Be careful! The pumpkin seed might get stuck in the leaves, or roll right out of the pumpkin patch!
More for ways to play with a maze.
1. Number the pumpkins with a black marker.
- Aim for a certain numbered pumpkin.
- Add the numbers as you bump into each pumpkin.
2. Add features to one or two of the pumpkins to create "jack-o-lanterns". Try not to bump into any of the "jack-o-lanterns" as you roll the pumpkin seed around in the pumpkin patch.
A pumpkin patch maze presents a hands-on opportunity to explore pumpkins. Extend the learning to books and videos, and even a field trip to discover how pumpkins are grown and harvested, and transported to market.
This pumpkin patch craft is a fun STEAM activity.
STEAM = Science+Technology+Engineering+Art+Math
This activity incorporates STEAM principles to create and play with the maze.
- Science: discuss how pumpkins grow from seeds
- Technology: use paint brushes and glue
- Engineering: design and build the pumpkin patch
- Art: paint the creamers, choose a pompom color
- Math: count the pumpkins in the pumpkin patch
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