I have a slight obsession with dry-erase these days. It makes sense though, dry erase projects allow children independence and a less frustrating experience if they are unhappy with what they’ve written or drawn. For our house, this is a godsend. My son is a reluctant drawer and writer. He will look at me and say “I’ll just do abstract!” and part of that is because he is also a perfectionist and it’s frustrating when things aren’t as neat as he wants them to be. The design your own jack o lantern helps him explore in abstract or not.
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- Gather your materials. You will need some orange and green card stock, a hard piece of cardboard or canvas , scissors and some clear contact paper.
- Start by drawing a basic pumpkin shape on your orange paper.
- Cut it and a green stem out and place on your canvas. cardboard.
- Cover with clear contact paper.
- Design your own Jack o lantern. I made the faces to show readers all the possibilities for teaching about emotion with this craft.
- My son just created, the tricky thing about dry erase is his creations were gone before I could get pictures!
Halloween Books
Pumpkin Eye by Denise Fleming is a wonderful Halloween book for kids who are old enough to feel like Halloween is a spooky night, but still too young for anything graphically frightening. The text is short but rhymes beautifully and grabs your child’s attention almost as effectively as the illustrations do. The story is all about Halloween night and the sights and sounds on one street as the night goes on. Both my kids have been grabbing for this book off our shelf when I ask which book they want to read. If it can be a favorite for an almost 5-year-old boy and a 15-month-old girl I say it will probably be a hit at your house too.
Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman is a staple in most preschool classrooms. It’s a cute story about a witch who is desperate for pumpkin pie but her giant pumpkin is too big for her to pick up! Luckily she enlists the help of a ghost, vampire, mummy, and bat and with a little teamwork, they save the night! The rhyming text is almost like a song and kids love it! It’s possibly my son’s favorite Halloween book and I love that it’s the smallest creature that uses its brain not brawn to solve the problem.
Patty’s Pumpkin Patch by Teri Sloat is a great alphabet book and story in one. Readers follow a pumpkin patch from planting the seeds until after Halloween when they gather the seeds for the next planting. I really like how this book combines an alphabet book with both upper and lowercase letters corresponding to some animal or insect in the story. I also like the easy rhythm of the rhyming text and the engaging and detailed illustrations. All in all, I think this is a great fall book!
JDaniel4's Mom says
This is such great way to carve a pumpkin over and over again.
admin says
oooh I like how you said that- I will be marketing like that later today 😉
Deborah says
This is a great idea Allie – Great for promoting writing and drawing!
admin says
Thanks – I am trying everything to make it more fun for my son and resist the urge to force, I thought he’d be into by now with his love of spelling and reading but not so.
lori says
fabulous idea. why didnt i think of doing jack o lanterns before ? ! dry erase rules in my classroom . thanks for sharing such a great idea.
Jessica says
Oohh, I love this! Even though my kids are slightly older, they will love this. I plan to make one for each of them!!
Dawn says
I love this idea! I’m coming up with pumpkin & fall ideas for coming weeks, and this is DEFINITELY going to be included. Thanks for sharing this!
Bridgette says
Where might one find contact paper?
admin says
I got mine at Walmart. Look in the section with shelf liners for clear contact paper. Hope that helps !
Jeneva says
Love this idea! We will be doing this today, I think. I don’t have any contact paper but I have sheet protectors. Works just as well for a quick project!
Bill Moody says
Nice idea which I will use to create a template before carving.
Kim says
I have a reluctant writer as well. Great idea! Pinned it for later.
cheryl says
i love the story of Big pumpkin, it also comes with a cassette tape that has great music with it! great idea for the dry erase board! I will make a few tomorrow! thanks!
MeLissa King says
Wonderful idea. We are all into dry erase too! Now you’ve inspired me. Thanks.
Terri says
I love this! I’ll be making my girls one to play with … I know they’ll have a great time!
Laura says
What kind of markers do you buy?
admin says
Dry erase markers – I just bought some expo ones today and they are so awesome.