DIY Pool Noodle Pumpkins and Activities for Kids

These DIY Pool Noodle Pumpkins are a fun fall craft to make with kids. There are also many ways for your little ones to use them for educational activities and games this fall.

Pool noodles are being discounted as summer comes to a close and now is a great time to grab up a half dozen or so for crafts that you can make all fall and winter long! These adorable and easy Pool Noodle Pumpkins lend themselves to tons of activities for your little ones. With just one orange pool noodle  (that I picked up for  $.30 on clearance) we were able to create a lot of cute little pumpkins for playtime and education activities as well!

Pool Noodle Pumpkins Tutorial

Your children can help make the pool noodle pumpkins, but an adult will have to cut the pool noodle into “pumpkins” with the knife.

Materials Needed:

• orange pool noodle
• wide craft sticks
• green pipe cleaner
• black sharpie
• knife

Directions:

1. Slice pool noodle into varying lengths from 1″-6″.

2. Draw jack o’ lantern faces on each pumpkin.

3. Cut craft sticks into various sizes, tuck inside pool noodle hole in the center to make a stem.

4. Cut green chenille pipe cleaners into 2″ lengths for the vine, twist, and press one end into pool noodles.

6 Pool Noodle Pumpkin Activities

Once your kids have made their pool noodle pumpkins, they are ready to use for all sorts of free play or you can use one or more of the ideas below to extend the play and use them in fun learning activities.

Stack the pumpkins

Show your child how to stack and puzzle the pumpkin pieces together. This is a simple and fun activity that also helps build fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and problem-solving skills. 

Sort the pumpkins

Younger children can sort by height from small to large. They can also sort them by faces: silly, scary, etc.

Use the pool noodle pumpkins as stamps

Add a little bit of orange paint, some paper,  and a green marker to your pool noodle pumpkin play and you can create an entire pumpkin patch with stamping.

Count pumpkins 

Use your pumpkins for one-to-one correspondence, skip counting, or have them match the correct number of pumpkins to flashcards or magnet numbers that you set out.

Bath time play with pumpkins

Since pool noodles are already intended for water play they make a great bath time toy. They dry quickly, float, and are fun for little hands while scrubbing away the dirt. Remove wooden craft sticks before placing them in the water.

Dramatic play with pumpkins 

Let your child use them for free play, to tell a story, or line them up in rows on a large sheet of green paper. They can also be placed in a sensory bin or used in any other way they can imagine! Let your child create the pumpkins themselves as well for an art project.

More Pool Noodle Crafts and Activities:

Frugal Uses for Pool Noodles

Pool Noodle Flower Craft for Kids

Pool Noodle Bumble Bee Craft

How to Make a Pool Noodle Candle Holder

Pool Noodle Seedling Starter

This was originally published on September 12, 2016. It was updated on September 24, 2019.