Pound A Pumpkin

A few weeks ago Big Brother participated in this activity at preschool, and loved it so much we had to recreate it at home. We've used it as a way to get out some extra energy now that the afternoons are cooler and shorter, and it's a little harder to get outside. It's perfect for using up any pumpkins left over from Halloween.

The materials are simple a pumpkin, golf tees, and toy hammers. Ahead of time a grown-up could poke holes into the pumpkin although we found it pretty easy to pound the tees in without preset holes. 

Big Brother would get the tee started by twisting it in and then use the hammer to pound the tee further in. 

Older kids could work on designing patterns but Big Brother just enjoyed getting the tees into the pumpkin. He even pounded one into the stem. We did find we could pretty easily use our fingers to pull them back out if we wanted to. Using the tee and the hammer both promote fine and gross motor skills. 

Not an idea we can take credit for, but it definitely got a lot of play time in our house. 

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