Pounding Golf Tees into a Pumpkin
This was one of those ideas that I had on a whim that ended up being a HUGE success (as far as engaging the boys, anyway). Big Brother worked on pounding golf tees into a pumpkin for OVER AN HOUR and then continued working on pounding golf tees into the pumpkin the next day as well! Talk about some awesome fine motor practice for both Big Brother and Little Brother! Although this isn’t technically “carving” a pumpkin…it could certainly take the place of it, especially if you don’t want to bring out the knives. :)
Here’s what you’ll need: a pumpkin, golf tees, and a wooden mallet (or a small hammer, if you trust your child). :) We used the wooden mallet from this toy and it worked wonderfully.
Give your child the tees, the hammer/mallet, and the pumpkin. Let him/her get started pounding away.
Although we could have easily made a design (and it would have probably looked much cooler), I decided to just let Big Brother do whatever he wanted. He was so proud of his pumpkin after he was done!
This picture just screams “fall” to me…except for the fact that my yellow mums aren’t blooming yet! :)
Having fun!
After Little Brother woke up from his nap, he wanted to get in on the fun. He wasn’t quite steady enough with the mallet to pound effectively, so we just took all of the golf tees out and let him put each one back into the holes!
It was just perfect for his age and ability!
This was a complete afterthought, but it turned out to be quite beautiful! After the holes were already hammered, I cut the top off the pumpkin, scooped out the innards, and added a candle.
It makes a pretty festive nighttime fall display!
That is an awesome idea! My son will love this!!
I LOVE this idea!! It’s a totally non-scary way to enjoy pumpkins with lights! I can’t wait to try this with my littles.
What a great, safe way to get the little ones involved in pumpkin carving; and we bet even the adults could get pretty intricate with this!
We did something similar last year around this time, using nails rather than golf tees. My boys loved it, and keep asking to do it again this year.
http://discoverexplorelearn.com/2011/11/poor-poor-pumpkin/
I love your idea of using golf tees and a wooden mallet to make it a bit more appropriate for the younger kids.
Such a great seasonal activity for fine motor control and eye-hand coordination. Plus, it lets kids (especially boys) expend some of their never-ending energy.
Love, love, love!
I love this!! My daughter would get a kick out of doing this, it’s definitely going to be a fall activity.
This is a fantastic idea! I had read another post about pounding tees into a pumpkin, but hadn’t thought about having the resulting holes be the “carving”! This is awesome! Can’t wait to try it!
I did this with my grandsons today. The two year old was intent for 45 minutes on this project. The 4.5 year old spent 2.5 hours pounding tees. He chattered excitedly the entire time about what a great project this was and how beautiful it would look lit up. We spent so long on the pounding that we ran out of time, tomorrow we will gut and install the electric candles. Thanks for the idea!!!
Dear Director
Greetings to you from Myanmar, I am working for non profit in Myanmar,
with orphans and poor children I wanted to request you to help me for
preschool,some of our children
from our childcare children also have to go now for preschool,and
some of children also can join us ,many children are no education no
going to schoolso if you can help us to start Preschool we will be
very happy to start Nursery to Kg 1-2 we are very much need of
education for children,hope to hear from you,
with sincerely,
Mrs Grace,
Director of Hope For Myanmar Children,
Yangon
Myanmar
HI, I very much like this craft. I also have 2 boys. I would like to try this project with my kids. Now, they will be part of my pumpkin carving.. I also like the ideas about reading activities for 3 to 5 yr old’s. Thanks!
LOVE this!!! Thank you!
This is such a great idea!! I think my son would love this. We have plenty of golf tees lying around, too. Ha!
Oh my gosh I love it! My 9 year old likes to organize her toys but at the same time she loves to hit things or make things move. My 8 year old boy I was thinking this will be perfect for him because his boredom never ceases! At the end it is a holey-candle-lit pumpkin! Awesome, can’t wait to try it with the kids. I just have to remind my daughter not to smash her finger or the pumpkin in! :)