COFFEE FILTER PUMPKINS

Let your children fold round coffee filters into fourths and dip the edges into slightly diluted red food coloring, then into yellow food coloring. Have them continue folding and dipping until their filters are covered with red, yellow, and orange designs. Allow the "pumpkins" to dry flat. Then help the children mount their pumpkins on white paper and add green marker stems.

PUMPKIN PATCHES Invite your children to dip carrot rounds or corks into orange paint and make "pumpkin" prints on pieces of paper. When the paint has dried, have the children use green crayons or markers to connect their pumpkins with leafy vines.

PUMPKIN PUPPETS Give each child a 3-inch circle and four 1-by-4-inch strips cut from orange construction paper. Have the children draw jack-o'-lantern faces on their circles. Then have them fold their paper strips accordion-style and tape them to their pumpkin faces for arms and legs. Attach a craft stick handle to each puppet, and encourage puppet playtime to begin!