by Alyse Passmore

Created on: October 25, 2009   Last Updated: October 28, 2009

Carving pumpkins up is entertaining for youngsters and adults alike. The sensation of slippery pumpkin innards squishing between fingers can be either disgusting or delightful for children. There is no better time for experimentation than around Halloween because regardless of if pumpkin carving is creepy or fun for your young ones it all keeps with the air of this fantastic and ghoulish holiday.

Simple Halloween crafts can help develop fine motor skills in toddler. Manipulating a spoon to scoop out the inside of a pumpkin and separating the seeds into a Ziploc bag enable children to properly develop their muscles and coordination. Tongs, children's chopsticks and scissors as well as many other kitchen utensils can be used in the process of carving up a pumpkin. Pumpkin carving is messy so roll up their sleeves and allow them to get into it. If your child likes to smear paint they will love to smear pumpkin so lay out some paper and allow them to experiment.

The one thing about toddlers is that they are no longer infants and they can do a lot of tasks on their own. If you have older children that are carving up their own pumpkins the little guys might start to feel left out. Don't limit their abilities as they are more than capable of making their very own jack-o-lanterns - you'll definitely be surprised.

What you will need is some golf tees, a rubber mallet or plastic hammer and some patience and trust. While at this age some children aren't yet allowed to use a bread knife, it may be scary for adults to allow them to use pointy golf tees. Yet, as added reassurance of all the times our daycare has allowed children ranging in age from 2 to 6 to do pumpkin hammering we have yet to see a child get hurt. Moms just step back, relax, enjoy the show and don't forget to take lots of pictures. For those extra talented photographers black and white photos with the pumpkins punched out in colour are really funky.

The more they hammer the better the pumpkin looks on your step. For the really little just let them do their thing but for the older you can encourage them to try to make a face or with a marker draw a design for them to follow. A spider web is a straightforward design for children to follow but looks intricate from the street. Each and every hammered pumpkin will look great. Maybe, in the years to follow your children can change it up and use screws and a screw driver or perhaps you can make use of that power drill you got as a gift. This craft is a fun spin on an all time favourite. It allows your toddlers that independence they demand and time to practice and enhance their motor skills. And for self proclaimed DIYD (Do-it-yourself-disaster) mommies, such as myself, it helps to eliminate dry wall catastrophes.

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