How to Dye Pumpkin Seeds for Sensory Play and Crafts
Learn how to easily dye pumpkin seeds for art and sensory play for your kids! These taste-safe dyed pumpkin seeds are great for Autumn craft projects for preschoolers, and toddler sensory bins. The options are limitless!
Everyone has heard of roasted pumpkin seeds, but have you ever seen dyed pumpkin seeds?
They are a hit with kids, and only add one step to your roasting session! I cannot recommend them enough.
Every year we have so many pumpkin seeds, I don’t know what to do with them all. We can only eat so many, and many end up going to waste after carving pumpkins.
This year, with 2 young kids, I knew we needed to add a new fun tradition to our Fall festivities: dyed pumpkin seeds!
You can’t go wrong, y’all! They’re colorful and fun. Perfect for various sensory and art projects, and even better when you’re doing an entire pumpkin theme!
WHILE YOU’RE PLANNING YOUR PUMPKIN THEME:
- Check out my Pumpkin Unit here. (Use code PUMPKIN25 for 25% off) If you join my Preschool Program Membership, you’ll get a major discount on all past Unit Studies, and 2 brand new units included each month!
- Here are 25 Pumpkin Activities for your Preschooler’s Pumpkin theme!
- Here’s a list of Pumpkin Books for your Pumpkin Unit Study.
- Here are 25 Pumpkin Crafts for your Preschooler
- Here’s a list of 16 Fun & Delicious Pumpkin-Themed Snacks for your Kids
- Here are some fun Pumpkin Facts for Kids
- Learn how to Process Pumpkin Puree from a Pumpkin with your Kids
Pumpkin Activities & Crafts We’ve Done at the Moore Homestead:
- Anatomy of a Pumpkin
- Pumpkin Stamping Art
- Wash the Pumpkins Sensory Activity
- Pumpkin Patch Invitation to Play
- DIY Pumpkin Pie Moon Sand
- Pumpkin Suncatchers Craft
- Pumpkin Boats Activity
- Fluffy Pumpkin Slime
- Pumpkin Bubbles Science Experiment
- Pumpkin Seed Name Craft
- Pumpkin Shape Sorter
- Pumpkin Volcano Science Experiment
- Pumpkin Paper Plate Craft
- Pumpkin Soup Activity
- Pumpkin Sticker Play for Toddlers
- Pumpkin Squish Bag for Babies & Toddlers
- Painting Pumpkins Art Activity
For tips on planning your homeschool preschool year, including curriculum recommendations, check out this article.
Join the Homeschooling Preschoolers Facebook Page! There are free resources available, and it’s the perfect way to connect with other families!
How to Dye Pumpkin Seeds
I’ve seen recipes with watercolor or paint as the dye, but I prefer food coloring. The colors come out vibrant and gorgeous, and it’s still technically taste-safe! Though, with no seasoning or salt they’re not particularly tasty.
Other recipes call for water and vinegar along with the food coloring, and I found this to be completely unnecessary.
Start by separating your clean seeds into small plastic baggies or bowls. Add food coloring to each batch and coat fully.
Then, spread the seeds out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 375* F for about 20 minutes. Make sure you don’t overcook them, as they turn a bit brown. That actually happened with this batch. The colors would have been even more vibrant had I taken them out a couple of minutes earlier.
Time is precious towards the end! They can turn colors pretty quickly!
Once done, your toddler or preschooler can use these for sensory play, art projects, you name it! They were a huge hit this year, and I’ve already made a couple of batches! They will surely be a yearly tradition now.
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