How to needle felt a pumpkin for Halloween-October Nature Table

We celebrate Halloween at my home daycare.  The nature table includes this seasonal holiday.  This is one of the few times in the year that the nature table reflects a night time scene.  We have been discussing the changes in the season and the leaves falling. The children learned how the decrease in daylight makes the leaves turn colour.  The nature table shows the dark evening sky.  The earth has just produced a crop of pumpkins before it gets ready to sleep for the winter. Our nature table includes several pumpkins and the animals getting ready for the change of season.

Our story for the nature table in late October is loosely based on a book by Edna Millar called “Mousekin’s Golden House.” It is about a mouse who finds a jack-o-lantern and decides to spend the winter in it. Our nature table story includes a mouse discovering a pumpkin. He decides to spend the winter inside. Other animals come by and try to convince him to choose a better home. The mouse learns how to listen to his inner voice and feel confident in his own choices. In the end, the pumpkin provides the perfect shelter for this mouse. I find it beneficial to choose a story that supports the inner growth of my daycare children. It depends on the group and what life stages they are currently growing through.

I have provided a video on needle felting below. If you would like to felt a mouse, please visit my post on “A Nature Table- Bring a magical story into your daycare“. Happy felting and Happy Halloween!