Although we don’t really know for sure whether turkey was served at the Pilgrim’s first Thanksgiving, the birds have become an important part of the modern Thanksgiving tradition.
This year, add a decorative touch to your home and your holiday celebration with these fun and festive art projects that are perfect for preschoolers.
Handprint Turkey
In this classic craft, use cutouts of your preschoolers’ hands and feet to make a Thanksgiving turkey.
Trace one of your child’s feet onto a piece of brown construction paper for the turkey’s body. (Don’t outline the individual toes – just a smooth outline of the top of the foot.) Cut it out and set it aside.
Then trace little hands on orange, yellow and red paper for the feathers. Cut them out and glue them in an arc to make a plume of feathers.
Then glue the turkey’s body on top of the feathers, so it looks like they are sticking out from behind the bird.
Use construction paper to make the turkey’s waddle, beak, eyes and legs or have your child draw them onto the turkey. If you want to get really crafty, you can even glue on googly eyes!
Turkey Hat
Your preschooler can create a turkey hat with a few pieces of construction paper, glue and scissors. Start by making the crown of the hat. Cut out a strip of brown construction paper and fit it around your child’s head. Fasten it into a circle using a stapler.
Once the crown is down, your preschooler can cut the body of the turkey, the turkey’s facial features, legs and feathers from various colors of construction paper. Glue the facial cutouts, legs and feet onto the turkey’s body and attach the body to the front of the crown. Glue the feathers to the back of the crown to complete the turkey hat.
Place Card Holders
This might require a trip to the craft store, but if you’re hosting Thanksgiving dinner, your child can help out by making the table place holders.
Get a styrofoam ball for each guest and let your little one paint it brown with non-toxic paint to create the body of the turkey.
Glue googly eyes, a beak and a waddle (cut from construction paper) onto a popsicle stick or wooden ice cream spoon and stick it into the top of the ball to serve as the turkey’s face.
Insert various colors of feathers into the ball behind the face to serve as the turkey’s plume. When your child is all done decorating, cut a piece off the bottom of the ball so it has a flat base. Then glue it to a piece of cardstock and write your guest’s name! (from Free Preschool Crafts)
