Pumpkin Pounding

Anyone else have an abundance of pumpkins and gourds this first week of November? Have active children who crave gross motor sensory activities in the form of throwing, stomping, smashing? Why not provide them a safe outlet to fill their sensory needs with pumpkin pounding! My youngest is in a major Hulk phase, so you can imagine his glee with this “yes to hulk smash” activity.

At its most basic, no extra supplies needed, level: take a past prime, carved pumpkin and let your child(ren) have at it throwing and smashing til their heart’s content. There is definitely something so satisfying, for kids and adults alike, in releasing all pent up energy with a solid pumpkin chuck (just make sure everyone else is safely out of the way from said flying pumpkins).

Take it to the next level: If you have golf-tees and a mallet (I find the wooden ones used with eating crabs the perfect size and weight for kids), they are the perfect tools to practice hammering skills by pounding golf-tees into the pumpkin. Don’t have a mallet or golf-tees? Any hammer or pounding rock will do along with real nails or sicks. What designs can you make with the golf tees? Try attaching leaves and other nature items onto the pumpkin with the golf tees. Wrapping yarn around the golf tees can also create new and unique shapes. You can even hammer in cookie cutters to punch out shapes. The options are endless!