Jack-o-Lantern Candle Craft

October is my favorite month and it is not just because it is my birthday. I love the apple-picking, the leaves turning colors, butternut squash, and of course, Halloween.

And nothing says Halloween quite like a glowing Jack-o-Lantern. My daughter made hers with some left-over tissue paper and a glass baby-food jar.

We love crafts, especially ones made from natural or recycled materials but I’ll admit…we take shortcuts sometimes. Especially when I’m hosting a play date, I buy some craft kits from Oriental Trading company. I like their sun-catchers but we always have left-over tissue-paper squares.  This craft was a fun and easy way to use up the extra materials.

Materials:

• Glass Jar (Baby Food or Jam)
• Orange Tissue Paper or Crepe Paper
• Black Construction Paper
• Glue + Water Mixture
• Tea light

Instructions:

1. Mix glue and water (about 50/50) and spread on the glass jar.
2. Paste on squares and continue to add glue mixture until the jar is covered.
3. Draw and cut out a jack-o-lantern face from the black construction paper.
4. Coat with a thin layer of glue mixture and let dry.
5. Add a tea light.

Variations/Modifications: Instead of a tea light, you could also create a candle with melted wax and a wick.

Educational Experience:

• Language Arts: Introduce the term “translucent”.
• Science: Describe the effects of candlelight as opposed to electric lights. Research the invention of the electric lights and the use of candlelight prior to its invention.
• Arts: Explain color blending and secondary colors with younger children.
• History: Examine how immigrants bring cultural traditions with them to their new homelands and how those traditions sometimes change.  Research the origin of the “jack-o-lantern”.

Extensions:

• Literature: Read “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and discuss the role of the jack-o-lantern head.
• Arts and Crafts: Carve real Jack-o-Lanterns from pumpkins.
• Emotional and Social: Talk about how changing the features of your jack-o-lantern transforms it from playful to scary to angry, etc.

More Pumpkin Crafts from Other Sources:

• Paper Bag Pumpkins (at Little Elephants)
• Mod Paper Pumkins (at Hostess Blog)
• Toilet Paper Roll Pumpkin (Real Life Kids’)
• 3-D Paper Pumpkin

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