Fall crafts are some of my absolute favorites because they’re simple, colorful, and usually only need a few everyday supplies. And when you add in a little sponge painting magic? You get the perfect fall activity for kids—sponge painted pumpkins! This craft combines the fun of painting with the hands-on texture of sponges, making it a great choice for toddlers, preschoolers, and even older kids who love a low-prep but high-fun project.
Why You’ll Love This Craft
- Easy setup, easy cleanup – All you need is a sponge, paint, and paper.
- Budget-friendly – The supplies are inexpensive (most can be found at the dollar store).
- Perfect for all ages – Toddlers can enjoy stamping pumpkin shapes, while older kids can get creative adding silly or spooky jack-o’-lantern faces.
- Seasonal fun – This activity ties perfectly into fall themes, Halloween crafting, or even a pumpkin patch learning unit at school or home.
Sponge painting is one of those art techniques that looks impressive but is incredibly easy for kids to master. The sponge naturally gives the pumpkin a fun, textured look without needing complicated painting skills.
Materials You’ll Need
- Sponge (any basic sponge will do)
- Scissors (to cut your sponge into a pumpkin shape)
- Orange paint (washable paint works best)
- Green paint (for the stem)
- Black paint (for the face details)
- Paintbrush
- White cardstock or construction paper (thicker paper works best for painting)
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Cut Your Sponge
Start by cutting your sponge into a simple circle or pumpkin shape. Don’t stress about making it perfect—an oval or circle shape works great, and kids love the stamping effect no matter what.
2. Set Up Your Painting Space
Lay out white cardstock or construction paper and pour a little orange paint onto a tray or paper plate. If you’re crafting with toddlers, it helps to have wipes nearby for easy cleanup.
3. Sponge Stamp Your Pumpkins
Dip the sponge into the orange paint, making sure it’s fully coated but not dripping. Then press the sponge down on the paper to stamp your pumpkin. Repeat until you’ve filled the page with as many pumpkins as your little one wants.
4. Add the Faces
Once the pumpkins have dried a little, grab your paintbrush and black and green paint. Let your child add fun faces—happy, silly, spooky, or even surprised jack-o’-lanterns. Encourage creativity here: no two pumpkins need to look the same! Use the green paint to add stems.
5. Display Your Pumpkin Patch
When the paintings are dry, hang them on the fridge, in a classroom, or even string them together for a DIY fall garland. Kids love seeing their artwork displayed, and this makes for such cheerful seasonal décor.
Extensions and Variations
- Add stems and vines – Use green paint or markers to add stems, vines, or leaves to the pumpkins.
- Try different colors – Pumpkins don’t have to be orange! Experiment with white pumpkins, green gourds, or even rainbow pumpkins for a fun twist.
- Turn into a learning activity – Write letters or numbers inside each pumpkin face for a sneaky way to practice early literacy or math.
- Create a pumpkin patch mural – Work together on a large sheet of butcher paper and create a whole pumpkin patch scene.
Why Kids Love Sponge Painted Pumpkins
This craft gives kids freedom to play with texture, color, and imagination without requiring perfection. The stamping motion is super satisfying (especially for toddlers), and the faces let them show off personality and humor. Plus, it’s the kind of craft that works whether you have 10 minutes or an hour—it’s flexible, fun, and totally fall-worthy.
So grab a sponge, some paint, and let your little artists create their own pumpkin patch indoors!
Play2Learn Toddler & Preschool Programs for Curious Toddlers
There is no limit to your toddler’s energy and curiosity. That energy and curiosity although a joy can be challenging at times. Their interest in just about everything around them is what makes them great learners. One and two year olds can soak up so much just from their senses!
But as a teacher or parent that thirst for learning can be exhausting. That is why I created this toddler and preschooler program. To help you get the most out of this time with your curious toddler without having to come up with creative ways to play and interact with them.
Play2Learn for Toddlers includes 20 Units for toddlers. Each 2-week toddler unit has 20 super easy to set up and engaging activities for toddlers 18 months to 3 years.
Play2Learn Preschool which includes 20 Units for preschoolers. Each 2-week preschoolers unit has 20 unique and easy to set up and engaging activities for preschoolers 3 years to 5 years. That’s over 800 learning activities for your toddler and preschooler at your fingertips! So many ideas you and your child will never be bored again!
These toddler and preschool lesson plans and activities will definitely keep you and your toddler and preschooler busy playing and learning!
Click here for more information: Play2Learn
Book: Exciting Sensory Bins for Curious Kids
Did you know I wrote a book of sensory bins? Click here for more information Exciting Sensory Bin for Curious Kids. Or grab your copy at Amazon.
Boring afternoons are made exciting with awesome animal-based bins, like Salty Shark Bay or Yarn Farm. Pretend play bins like Birthday Cake Sensory Play or Bubble Tea Party encourage creativity and imagination. And your kids will have so much fun they won’t even know they’re getting smarter with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) activities like Sink or Float Soup, Magnetic Letter Hunt or Ice Cream Scoop and Count.
Designed for toddlers 18 months and up.
Book: Super STEAM Activity Book for Kids
Learning all about science, technology, engineering, art, and math sets kids up for scholastic success―and it can be so much fun! Watch kids enjoy building STEAM skills as they color friendly fish, help water find its way to tree roots, solve math problems with mazes, and more.
Find out more and grab your copy here.
Designed for preschoolers 3 years old and up.
Book: Big Book of Riddles for Kids
Riddle me this: What’s an exciting way to practice critical thinking while having a blast? The Big Riddle Book for Kids, of course! From hilarious puns to tough brain teasers, kids can build problem-solving skills with hundreds of riddles tha. t show them how to think outside the box.
- 350 riddles for kids—Have hours of fun with riddles, puns and jokes, and math and logic puzzles that’ll get their wheels turning!
- Level up their skills—Riddles get trickier as kids progress through the book, challenging them as they get better at solving puzzles!
- Double-check their work—Kids can check their answers in the back of the book with a handy answer key.
Help children expand their minds while having fun with this puzzle book for kids!
Designed for kids ages 6 years old and up.
TV Show: Curious Crafting
I’m so excited to share my crafting TV show Curious Crafting which launched in July 2022 on TVOkids and TVOkids YouTube! Season 2 aired in August 2023! My show was also nominated in 2023 for Best Live Action Preschool Series by the Youth Media Alliance Awards of Excellence.
Curious Crafting Season 1 is also now airing in Australia on ABC! Watch it here!
Set in the ultimate crafting space, Curious Crafting is a short form pre-school age series about the joy of making crafts. I lead a rotating cast of adorable little preschoolers (including my own) making magic out of common household objects.
In each episode we transform recycled items into magical crafts like a milk carton school bus, paper bag puppet or cotton pad turtle. The crafters learn and laugh their way through each activity while demonstrating what their young imaginations can create.
Curious Crafting shares the adventure and joy of making art with takeaway lessons for creating crafts at home.
This show designed for toddlers and preschoolers 2.5 years old and up.
