I’ve never carved a pumpkin in my life. So teaching our kids how to carve a jack-o-lantern wasn’t exactly something I thought I’d be doing. That’s where having an American born husband who celebrated Halloween growing up comes in pretty handy.
As a child, my family never celebrated Halloween. I was usually the only kid without a costume in class. My siblings and I weren’t allowed to trick-or-treat. Some of you probably feel sorry for us, but don’t. I grew accustomed to being the odd kid out.
In fact, I used to say that I’d carry on the tradition and not allow my kids to take part in Halloween festivities. But since our children are half American, I don’t think that would be fair. I’ve often felt stuck between two cultures as a child, but I wouldn’t want the same for our son and daughter.
We want them to embrace their Jamaican and American heritage. In doing so, I also decided to take part in many things that I’m not accustomed to like pumpkin carving.
This Halloween craft has become a learning experience for us all, including my hubby who has been out of practice.
Clearly, I’m not an expert as far as making a jack-o-lantern. But with this experiment, I’ve learned quit a bit about teaching kids how to carve a pumpkin.
For starters, we let them have at it. Even though they weren’t allowed to use a knife, we allowed them the chance to gut the pumpkin, draw the eyes, nose, and mouth, before their Dad began carving.
I think next year we’ll purchase a kit that would allow them to make cute and spooky faces. But for now, I think keeping it simple worked best. Once we were done with our project, Princess insisted that we add a light and place her jack-o-lantern at the window. The kids also had fun painting their pumpkins.
Here’s a video recap of our halloween craft. Please give this video a thumbs up and subscribe!
