Halloween is almost here! We have been busy with Halloween and fall festivities, but we did take a little bit of time today to paint a paper plate jack o’lantern. This art project is perfect for kids from two to four and even though it is a bit messy, can be done in a classroom or home environment.
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Materials Needed
- Paper Plate
- Orange Paint
- Scissors
- Black Construction Paper
- Brown Construction Paper
- Paint Brush (Optional. We did not use one)
- Glue

I started by giving my daughter orange paint to paint the paper plate. She used her hands, but a paint brush or even a sponge would also work.

While the painting dried, we talked about parts of a jack o’lantern. I asked my toddler to pick what shapes she wanted for the eyes and nose. Then I asked her to decide if she wanted a scary face, a happy face, or a silly face. After she made her choices, I cut out the parts from the black construction paper. I also cut out a small rectangle from the brown construction paper. If you are working with a group of children, it may be easier to pre-cut the shapes and then let each child just grab when they’d like.

Once the painted plate was completely dry, I helped my toddler glue on the jack o’lantern parts.


Next, we flipped it over and glued on the brown rectangle.

The end result is a unique little jack o’lantern that is perfect for little hands to make!

Book Suggestions
Little learners often enjoy having a book and a craft paired together! Here are some book suggestions.
If you like this craft, please share it with a friend!

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