Your kids will love this glue and watercolor pumpkin to include in a pumpkin unit study. Too, you can add this activity to my huge fall unit study.
Besides loving unit studies, I love watercolor as a medium for art.
I put the two together to give you a start for your own pumpkin unit study.
Watercolor is forgiving. And whether child or adult, you don’t need to be an artist to make wonderful images to display.
If you are hesitant but want to give it a try, then, today’s tutorial is the place to start.
This fall watercolor painting goes great with a pumpkin unit study.
And besides the simple tutorial I have some great ideas for you to create your own study.
Pumpkin Art
This dramatic pumpkin watercolor painting is great on its own as a simple art project.
One easy way to create contrast and drama in a simple watercolor picture is to make the outlines black and raised.
We do this with school glue colored with black craft paint.
The other way to make the watercolor stand out is to cover the entire page and leave no white space.
We are doing both of these today.
First, to make your own pumpkin unit study, always start with a couple of books that draw in your kids.
The Anatomy Series by Julia Rothman is great for so many studies.
They are worth the investment
Here is a beautiful page from Farm Anatomy to research the different varieties of squash.
They make for great art inspiration as well.
For younger children Pumpkin Jack is a great read aloud, but also teaches about the life cycle of a pumpkin.
Hands-on Activities for a Pumpkin Unit Study
- Make a pumpkin watercolor
- Pumpkin Experiments
- Taste pumpkin in different ways-fresh, canned, seeds, pie, muffins,etc..
- Bake a pumpkin pie
- Roast pumpkin seeds
- Use pumpkin seeds as manipulatives for math.
- Measure, weigh, and compare pumpkins.
- Label the parts of a pumpkin-stem, ribs, pulp, tendrils
- Visit a pumpkin patch and talk to the farmer.
- Test the density of pumpkins and seeds
- Draw the pumpkin life cycle
- Write a poem about a pumpkin
- Give pumpkin related journaling prompts
- Make a list of questions for your child to research online or in books
- Create a fall bucket list – great writing practice
In addition, have your child research about pumpkins. Look at these questions below.
Research Facts about Pumpkins
- How many different things can be made from pumpkins?
- What state produces the most pumpkins?
- How long do pumpkins take to reach maturity?
- What vitamins do pumpkins contain?
Finally, gather up all your items and enjoy your delicious pumpkin themed unit study.
Begin with this fun watercolor painting.
How to Do A Pumpkin Watercolor Painting
You will need:
- Watercolor paper
- Watercolor paints
- Brushes
- Spray bottle of water
- Black craft paint
- Craft glue
You can create any pumpkin design you like- an entire patch, a side view of a large pumpkin, or a close up view of the top of a pumpkin.
Today, I’m giving you step by step directions for the top view.
Start by drawing your design in pencil until you like the general shape.
I started with a stem.
Easy Fall Art
Then drew the ribs of the pumpkin starting from the stem and working my way out all the way to the edge of the page.
Keep the curve moving in the same direction all the way around.
Now we are going to create a dramatic black outline and give it some texture.
You want to start with a bottle of glue that is no more than ⅔ of the way full.
This is a great way to use up those partial bottles.
Add black paint and shake the glue and paint up. If need be use a craft stick to stir it a bit more.
Once it is mixed well trace the drawing you made in pencil with the black paint, allow it to dry completely.
Once the glue is dry, lightly spritz the tray of watercolors as well as the entire page with water.
This is a trick I learned that helps the color spread better easier and allows you to layer color. This will create some dimension.
Next, mix orange watercolor and a little brown, black, or red with it.
This will make it a little darker than the rest of the pumpkin.
Go along each of the ribs with this darker color to create shading.
Make sure you do it on the same side of the ribs all the way around so it looks like the light is coming from one direction.
Fill in the rest of your pumpkin with color, adding water as needed.
Once the painting is dry add some more watercolor with less water to deepen the color.
Dry the remaining of your painting and it’s ready to share.
What do you think? Are you read to get started on a fall themed unit study?
