{Playing Through Autumn Day 27} Pumpkin Carving!

A couple of weekends ago, we made a trip to the pumpkin patch and finally over this past weekend we made good on our promise to the tot and carved the gorgeous pumpkin she had picked. I have to say, outside of the actual trip to the patch itself, this is the single most fun thing we've done all autumn. Just as I suspected, the tot brought her usual curiosity and enthusiasm to this project, and we all had a ton of fun as a result!

No sense in wasting any time! We promptly got the top off that pumpkin and went to work emptying the inside. The tot got the hang of that job in about two seconds flat!

Even Zephyr the Long Dog got in on the action! The tot did a great job scooping out the seeds with her hands, and even with a spoon. The pumpkin guts are a sensory lover's dream!

After the inside of the pumpkin was as clean as we were going to get it, I presented the tot with two options for her pumpkin's face. I wanted to give her a choice, while at the same time keeping things fun and not overwhelming her with too many choices.  Before I even showed her the two choices, I knew what she would pick - but what kind of mommy/early educator would I be if I didn't at least give her the option?

The tot declared she wanted a "Boo!" face on her pumpkin, so Mommy got to work drawing it on the pumpkin, and Daddy lent his mad carving skills to finish off our masterpiece.

When all was said and done, the tot squealed with delight...then promptly moved on to the next thing (which just so happened to be chasing the dog around the living room). I was impressed by how long she stayed engaged, and how much she talked (and is STILL talking) about our pumpkin carving adventure. We can't wait to do it again next year!