Welcome Fall with the Easy Pumpkin Washing Station!

Hello Fall Activities and all the pumpkins and joy that comes with you. Who doesn’t love a world with Octobers (right, Anne)? This pumpkin washing station is the absolute best way to kick off the magical fall season.

RELATED: LOOKING FOR MORE FALL ACTIVITIES FOR TODDLERS AND PRESCHOOLERS? CHECK OUT MY LIST!

There’s a simplicity to a pumpkin washing station that kids absolutely love

Washing a pumpkin is just one of those fun Fall traditions that we start each year with.

Sometimes, we do it inside, in a bin of clean, soapy water.

Sometimes, we do it in the kitchen sink (easy peasy).

Sometimes, we add extra mud, mess up the pumpkins really good, and clean the up to shiny and new.

That’s what we did here.

It’s an easy, magical set up to clean these pumpkins

There’s not much to this activity set-up but I’ll describe it anyways:

1. Find a large storage container or use your kiddie pool or water table
2. Add in some dirt from the yard (nothing fancy, just regular yard dirt)
3. Get the dirt good and muddy.
4. Add in the pumpkins and roll them around (we want dirty pumpkins)
5. Set a bucket of clean soapy water next to the muddy bin or IN the muddy bin.”

RELATED: LOOKING FOR MORE EASY FALL IDEAS? CHECK OUT MY FALL BUCKET LIST (it’s a free download).

I went with a turducken bin model:

I set one bin inside another bin so everything could be nice and contained. I’m honestly not sure what size that smaller bin is, but the bigger one is my trusty 41 quart storage bin from Target.

Obviously I said Tar-Jay in my head as I typed, but you knew that.

The kids had a ball at their pumpkin washing station

I gave them IKEA brushes, some cups for water, and wash cloths.

They (ages 4 and 2 here) loved this activity. It’s just the perfect combination of fall fun, being outside, sensory magic, and washing things.

My kids are obsessed with washing stations (which is why a pumpkin washing station was an absolute must):

How we handled clean up

At the end, we dumped the mud and water back into our backyard dirt area, and gave the pumpkins a final hose off before adding them back to the porch.

There’s nothing my kids love more than washing these porch pumpkins all.season.long.

Sometimes, we even paint them BEFORE we wash them. I know I KNOW.

Try setting up a Pumpkin Washing Station for your kids

There’s something magical about washing pumpkins… maybe we adults can’t see it quite, but the kids can.

The kids can always see the magic better.