October just wouldn’t feel right without including a pumpkin project somewhere in the curriculum. I’ve been eyeing several ideas on Pinterest for days, but finally decided on one at the blog A Faithful Attempt.

Pumpkin Art Project

I liked this lesson not only because of the dynamic end result, but also because of the opportunity it gave me to teach my students how to create depth and lighting in their work.

I did use the black paper that Miss suggested, but since my students are younger than hers, I allowed them to first draw their pumpkins lightly in pencil rather than go directly to using the glue. Clear glue was a little difficult to find, so I’d suggest making sure you have plenty on hand before starting this project.

I also learned that even though my students are sixth graders, they didn’t necessarily have the hand strength to steadily squeeze the glue bottles in a way that produced even lines. As a result, our projects had many more bubbles than Miss’ after they dried.

Pumpkin Art Project Using Glue and Chalk

When it came to filling the pumpkins in, I decided to substitute the chalk pastels with oil ones since they are richer in color. This is where I had the opportunity to teach students how to depict light reflecting off the pumpkins by blending colors. Some of them had a hard time staying off the dried glue as they were supposed to, but in the end, the project’s rich colors and shining glue lines made all the mistakes disappear into lovely works of art.

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