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We’ve all made the Chinese Lanterns, but here is a fun way to turn this old favorite into a Halloween Jack-O-Lantern. This project is a great rainy day activity and one is never enough so plan on having plenty of orange construction paper on hand.

Trivia:

The name Jack-O-Lantern originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed “Stingy Jack.” If you want to hear the whole story go to the source of this information. Source: History – How Jack O’Lanterns Originated in Irish Myth

Supplies

• Orange construction paper
• Black marker
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Glue Stick
• Tin Foil (optional)

Instructions

1. Take your piece of orange construction paper, measure 1 inch from one of the sides. Cut this off and put aside for the handle.
2.  With the rest of your paper, measure (on the back side) 1 inch around all four sides. Draw a border around. This will be our guide for the slits.
3.  On the front side, draw a big jack-o-lantern face in the center of your paper. Keep in mind this face needs to stay within that border you drew on the back.
4.  Flip your paper back over and on the back, measure 1 inch slits across and cut from the top to bottom border.
5.  Fold the paper in half. Folding from top to bottom, so the crease is horizontal (opposite your slits).
6. Roll the paper into a tube and glue where two side borders meet.
7. Glue a handle on top – you can use the piece you cut off your page originally or some string.
8. Jazz It Up!! Line the inside with tin foil. This will cause your jack-o-lantern to light up when the sun, or light, hits it.