Fall Pumpkins: Watercolor Art!

Every fall I like to do art projects with my students to celebrate the changing season. I normally create pastel scarecrows with my first graders, but this year I decided to try something new and exciting! We created watercolor pumpkins and the kids had so much fun!

First we read all about pumpkins and learned about the lifecycle of a pumpkin. Then it came time for the art portion of our pumpkin study. I taught my students how to draw a pumpkin on watercolor paper. I showed them a horizontal version and a vertical version. I explained how their pumpkin needed to fill the paper. Some of the students drew leaves and vines.

Then, I created black glue by mixing black tempera with glue. The easiest way I found to do this is to take bottles of glue that were half full and pour the tempera inside the bottle. I gave the bottles a little stir and they were good to go.

After the glue was prepared, I had parent helpers assist with going over the student's pencil lines with the glue. Older students could do this part on their own, but I found that the little ones needed a good deal of help squeezing the bottles and staying on their pencil lines. The glue dried overnight and we were ready to paint the next day.

I instructed the students how to use the watercolors and had them paint the pumpkin first using shades of yellow, orange, and red. When the pumpkins dried we went back to add the background, stem, and leaves.

My students love getting creative and art is a wonderful way to incorporate fine motor skills and knowledge of art basics such as color, line, and form.

I know my students will love to look at their pumpkin watercolor paintings hanging on our front bulletin board through the fall season. Check back soon for Thanksgiving projects and resources!

Happy Teaching!

For more fall activities check out The October Draw and Write Pack here!