Carve A Pumpkin - App-tivities for Fall

Fall, and all the fun that goes with it, is here! In honor of the season, and my love of pumpkins, I wanted to share an app that my students really enjoy creating with. Have you heard of the free Carve A Pumpkin app from Parents Magazine? My students have a blast designing a pumpkin, saving the picture and turning it into a neat project.

Carve A Pumpkin is very easy to use, and allows students to either carve their chosen pumpkin by hand, or add pre-designed cut outs. There are also fun stickers to decorate with, and several choices for the background. When you’re finished, there is an option to save to the camera roll.

Creating your Jack-O-Lantern with the Carve A Pumpkin App

Here are a few ideas for after your Jack-O-Lantern is finished.

Make Your Pumpkin Talk

Use ChatterPix Kids to make your pumpkin tell a story. They could also share some information about pumpkins, fall or Halloween. Do a little pumpkin research, then share what your students learned. My students are going to use their pumpkins and ChatterPix to share a prediction about how long it will take a pumpkin to rot in a jar in our classroom this fall.

Here’s a quick example.

Add Labels

Even very young students could use Skitch to turn a Jack-O-Lantern into a diagram. Practice labeling the parts of the pumpkin and the parts that are carved. Interesting facts could be added to the image too. Students could also use Skitch to think of adjectives that describe Fall and their Jack-O-Lanter design and add them to the image with Skitch.

Create A Collage

Create a collaborative Jack-O-Lantern collage with all your students work. Use Pic Collage to put the pumpkin images together. Use the collage on your class website or print it to share outside your class. Then, if you’re really excited, use ThingLink to share your students videos and edited images all in one place. Just add a nubbin over each student’s work with their ChatterPix video or their finished picture from Skitch. You’ll end up with a really neat interactive image with work from your whole class!

Here’s a ThingLink we used last year that’s all about pumpkins. It doesn’t use the Carve A Pumpkin app, but is a fun example to get you inspired to make a Pumpkin Collage!

Enjoy creating some spooky, fun Jack-O-Lantern projects!

 

Feature image curtsey of Flickr, lobo235.

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