Every week MomonDealz brings us a kids craft that is fun, educational, and frugal. Believe it or not, Thanksgiving is 2 weeks away! I know making turkeys may seem “old school” but I really like this one because it can serve as a count down to this holiday! If you’ve missed past crafts, be sure to check them out. Remember to read all the way to the bottom to read the educational activities.
Thankful Turkey Countdown
Materials:
Paper Towel Roll
Googly eyes
Construction Paper
Glue
Pencil, crayons, markers
Directions:
1. Cut a turkey beak and wattle out of orange paper. Glue about half way up the paper towel roll.
2. Add the googly eyes to create the turkey’s face.
3. Cut feather shapes out of yellow, orange, and red construction paper.
4. Have your child tell you things they are thankful for. I had Will tell me all of his things so we could have a picture of a completed craft, but this craft lends itself to be a countdown to Thanksgiving. You can have your child tell you one thing each day from now to Thanksgiving and then add a thankful feather each day until the holiday arrives. Then you will have a heartfelt and homemade centerpiece for your dinner!
Educational Activities:
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- Language Arts: 1. Having your child write or draw things they are thankful for is a form of brainstorming which is the first step in the writing process. If you child is older, you can have them take their feathers and create a paragraph using the ideas. 2. Read a Thanksgiving themed book with your child and identify story elements with them (title, characters, problem, solution, setting). One of my favorite books for this holiday is The Littlest Pilgrim
.
- Language Arts: 1. Having your child write or draw things they are thankful for is a form of brainstorming which is the first step in the writing process. If you child is older, you can have them take their feathers and create a paragraph using the ideas. 2. Read a Thanksgiving themed book with your child and identify story elements with them (title, characters, problem, solution, setting). One of my favorite books for this holiday is The Littlest Pilgrim
- Math: Using this craft as a countdown helps your child become more aware of number sense and counting forward and backwards. You can also do addition and subtraction problems with the feather cut outs before you glue them on the turkey.
- Science: Before attaching the feathers, you can have your child sort them by color. You can also ID the body parts of a turkey or discuss the habitats that turkeys live.
- History/Social Studies: Discuss the history of Thanksgiving with your child. ID the participants at the “first” Thanksgiving dinner and why they were celebrating.