18. Pumpkin Seed Mosaic
Don’t throw away the seeds after carving your autumn pumpkins! Instead, turn them into a vibrant, tactile material for a gorgeous mosaic art project. Coloring and sorting the seeds is a fantastic sensory experience, and gluing them down helps toddlers practice their pincer grasp—the ability to hold small objects between the thumb and index finger—which is crucial for future writing skills.
To dye the pumpkin seeds, place them in plastic bags with a few drops of food coloring and a splash of rubbing alcohol, shake well, and spread them on paper towels to dry. Draw a simple outline of a pumpkin, leaf, or apple on a piece of cardboard. Let your toddler squeeze glue inside the outline and carefully place the colorful pumpkin seeds onto the glue. The result is a beautiful, textured mosaic that celebrates the bounty of the season.