Turkey Lacing Craft

This is an art project and a fine motor skills project all in one!

You need:

• paper bag or brown paper
• colored paper
• glue
• scissors
• hole punch
• yarn

Cut out the pieces. Punch holes around the perimeter of the turkey. 

Have your child assemble the turkey. When she is done, have her string the yarn through the holes. 

Thanksgiving Round-up 2012

Here is the round-up for our previous Thanksgiving posts:

Apple Turkey

Cute, yummy, fruit, fine motor development, patterns...all good.

Cornucopia of Thankfulness

Focus on what you are thankful for this year.

Pilgrim Cookies

A ymmy treat.

Thankful Basket

For teaching Gratitude.











Paper Plate Turkey

This is a super cute craft that teaches colors, counting, fine motor, and following instructions.








Pumpkin Turkey

This is another cute decoration for your Thanksgiving holiday!








Involving Young Children on Thanksgiving Day
Tips for getting your young children involved in this holiday that can seem ambiguous to them.

Making a Menu
Have your children make a menu for the big meal.

TeePee

Thanksgiving isn't just about learning about the pilgrims!

Thankful Place Mat
Have your children make a place mat to eat off of that shows the things they are thankful for.

Positional Words: A Thanksgiving Game
A game for all ages.

Thanksgiving Turkey Card

A cute keepsake.

Top 5 Pinterest Thanksgiving Finds

Five great Thanksgiving ideas we found on Pinterest.

Turkey Countdown to Thanksgiving

A fun way to count down to Thanksgiving!

Turkey Table Toppers

Make some center pieces for your meal.











Thankful Drawing

Get the whole family involved in drawing a picture of the things you are thankful for.







Thanksgiving Books
Thanksgiving Books 2009
Thanksgiving Books 2010
Thanksgiving Books 2011

TeePee

Though the Wampanoag Indians who were involved in the first Thanksgiving did not live in Teepees, Teepees are associate with Indians in general, and Thanksgiving is a time of year we talk about Native Americans, so I thought it was an appropriate time of year to share this activity idea.

It is simple. You take a tortilla, roll it into a cone, then secure with a toothpick. You then let your child paint and decorate it. It is fun and a novel item to paint.

You could add some history to the activity by studying the Plains Indians and teepees and share the knowledge with your child as you paint. 

Pilgrim Cookies

 

I saw these pilgrim hat cookies and thought they were adorable and something even a toddler could accomplish. I did make a few quick changes from the original I saw here. Their cookies were more accurate and cuter, but a few changes meant J could be that much more involved (and truth be told, I don’t think I could’ve iced a buckle so small).
We used yellow Reeces Pieces for the buckle instead of the yellow icing and I went with a chocolate covered cookie instead of the ginger snaps (because I don’t like ginger snaps so much!). I did try cutting a marshmallow for the white band around the middle, thinking J could create every part. I couldn’t get the marshmallow to look right, so I scrapped that. Maybe someone else has good luck with it though.
TO MAKE:
You need:

• small brown cookies (I used Archer Farms “Dark Chocolate & Caramel indulgent cookies from Target, just 8 in the box, so good for a small group)
• Small Reeces Peanut Butter Cups
• Yellow Reeces Pieces (or M&Ms)
• White icing

What you do:

• Squeeze a drop of icing onto the center of the cookie. Stack the Reeces Peanut Butter Cup on top (upside down). Line the base of the RPC with white icing. Use the icing to “glue” the yellow Reeces Pieces on as a buckle.

These cookies were really good and REALLY rich (dark chocolate caramel cookie with Reeces Pieces AND Reeces peanut butter cup…. not really part of any diet). Last year J and I gathered all his cousins to work on these the morning of Thanksgiving.  They gave them a part in preparing the meal (the best part of the meal… dessert!). Everyone loved them.
They have the side benefit of providing the opportunity talk about the origin of Thanksgiving. I used it as a review of who the pilgrims were.

Becca also blogs at Fun & Engaging Activities for Toddlers.

Cornucopia of Thankfulness

November is definitely a time when our thoughts are centered around what we are thankful for. This activity provides that focus for children while building fine motor skills as well as pasting skills.

Supplies Needed:

• Cornucopia printout: http://www.archjrc.com/childsplace/thanks.html
• magazines
• scissors
• glue
• construction paper

Activity

• Have your child color the cornucopia and glue it to the construction paper.
• Have your child go through magazines to find things they are thankful for and cut them out. 
• Have your child glue those things into the cornucopia. 

Thanksgiving Turkey Card

This is a cute gift to give people at Thanksgiving time--I am thinking Grandparents or parents if you teach young children.

You make a cut out of the child's hand. Then you have the child list things she is thankful for and write them on each finger/thumb. You then add a head, eyes, etc. The poem says:

This isn't just a turkey,

as you can plainly see.

I made it with my hand,

which is a part of me.

It comes with lots of love,

especially to say,

I hope you have a very

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Turkey Countdown to Thanksgiving

We used our turkey countdown for the first time last year.  It's held up to reuse again this year!

I saw this cute Thanksgiving countdown and had to try it. I adapted it a little so that I could reuse it every year (or at least for a few years). I used foam and cardboard instead of construction paper and cardstock. I also made it magnetic and keep it on our fridge.

Our turkey actually isn’t this full yet, I just took a picture of what he would look like in all his glory. J adds one feather to him each day. You could do the reverse and pluck a feather each day, pretending to ready him for Thanksgiving dinner. I think older kids would find that really funny actually.
First check out the original site if you like to change things up each year and are ok with a temporary version. I liked how she made the head 3D.  
Since J is so young I know that this will still be exciting for him next year.
My materials: colorful foam, cardboard, googly eyes, adhesive magnets and glue. It took about 30 minutes to make, but could be done much faster since I had to redo things a few times or find new materials to work with. This is also something your little one could help make. I just did it during naptime since our week is so busy and wanted it done in time for a decent countdown.
How I made it:
1. Cut the feather strips out of colorful foam. (You want thin strips so they fit behind Mr. Turkey, especially if you plan for a full month’s countdown.)
2. Attach an adhesive magnet to the top of each strip. This will allow you to have that fanned look to the feathers. If you place the magnets closer to the bottom, they will simply create a single file line across the turkey’s back. (This was my first mistake!)
3. Cut two circles out of brown cardboard, a large one for the body and small one for the head. **I suggest having a very large body so you have plenty of room for your feathers to fan out, especially if you plan to start on Nov. 1st. The cardboard circles that come with frozen pizzas work great.
4. Glue the smaller circle onto the larger one.
5. Cut out a strip of cardboard and glue on the back of the large circle. **Place it on the base of the body since the feather strips will be stuffed along the top. (This was my second mistake!) When dry, place 1-2 magnetic strips on the back of the turkey’s body. The cardboard backing allows Mr. Turkey to be lifted slightly when attached to the regrigerator. This allows the feathers to slide behind him easily.
6. Cut out the feet, beak, and snood and glue them onto the turkey, along with the googly eyes.
7. Test it out before getting your little one’s excited about it. I’m glad I tested it first since I needed to rearrange the magnets on my pieces. Now we have a cute turkey that J can easily slip a feather behind on his own each day.

Becca also blogs at Fun & Engaging Activities for Toddlers.

Top 5 Pinterest Thanksgiving Finds

Here are my five favorite things I have on my Pinterest for Thanskgiving ideas!

Treats from Ourbestbites.com
http://www.ourbestbites.com/2010/11/oreo-turkeys-and-cookie-pilgrim-hats/

Lunch from Meet the Dubiens
http://meetthedubiens.blogspot.com/2011/10/fun-food-friday-tommy-turkey.html

Turkey Countdown from Make and Take
http://www.makeandtakes.com/counting-down-to-turkey-time

And see our own Becca's version here:
http://www.makeandtakes.com/wp-content/uploads/Thanksgiving-Countdown-Craft.jpg

Thanksgiving Galore from KatharineMaries.com
http://katherinemariephotography.com/blog/archives/7375

There are at least 11 Thanksgiving ideas in this post

Turkey Craft from DLTK.com

http://www.dltk-holidays.com/thanksgiving/mturkey.html

You can follow me on Pinterest here: http://pinterest.com/valplowman/

Thanksgiving Books 2011

Here are five new recommendations for you for Thanksgiving books this year!

Fancy Nancy: Our Thanksgiving Banquet

Love Fancy Nancy books! You can't go wrong with these.







The Littlest Pilgrim

This is about a little pilgrim, but the things she can do even though she is small. This made me think of my youngest because she is smaller than the rest of the family, but always finding her own way to contribute.





Give Thanks for Each Day by Steve Metzger

I love that this book focuses on all of the things we have to be thankful for daily.







Thanksgiving Is Louise Borden

A simple book about Thanksgiving.







This First Thanksgiving Day: A Counting Story by Laura Krauss Melmed

This is a counting book about Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Round-Up 2011

Here is the round-up for our previous Thanksgiving posts:

Apple Turkey

Cute, yummy, fruit, fine motor development, patterns...all good.












Thankful Basket

For teaching Gratitude.











Paper Plate Turkey

This is a super cute craft that teaches colors, counting, fine motor, and following instructions.





Pumpkin Turkey

This is another cute decoration for your Thanksgiving holiday!








Involving Young Children on Thanksgiving Day
Tips for getting your young children involved in this holiday that can seem ambiguous to them.

Making a Menu
Have your children make a menu for the big meal.

Thankful Place Mat
Have your children make a place mat to eat off of that shows the things they are thankful for.

Positional Words: A Thanksgiving Game
A game for all ages.

Turkey Table Toppers

Make some center pieces for your meal.











Thankful Drawing

Get the whole family involved in drawing a picture of the things you are thankful for.







Thanksgiving Books
Thanksgiving Books 2009
Thanksgiving Books 2010

Pumpkin Turkey

I have these Jack-Be-Little pumpkins all over my house, serving as a nice decoration. I kept looking at them wanting to do something unique with them, and came up with this. I think they make darling decorations! This is a great activity for fine motor skills practice.

AGE RANGE
If you assemble the turkey, 12 months and up. The child will need to be older for assembling.

SUPPLIES

• Pumpkin (you could also use a pear, apple...whatever)
• Crayons
• Feathers
• Toothpick
• Scissors
• Tape
• Nail
• Turkey head printed out

ACTIVITY

1. Have your child color the turkey head.
2. If your child is able, have him cut out the turkey head.
3. Tape the turkey head to the toothpick.
4. You can either slide the toothpick into the turkey or poke a hole in the turkey with a nail and have your child slide it in.
5. Poke holes for the feathers. Either you put them in, or have your child do it if he is able.
6. Done!

Apple Turkey

(Here's the super-cute healthy version)

Of course I went to take a picture of our cute apple turkeys, and my camera battery ran out of juice.

I got this idea from the Disney Family Fun website, an idea by Tiffany Yang. She has a cute website called Cute Food For Kids with a few other turkey ideas you should check out, like handprint cookie turkeys. So cute!! (Which makes sense, given the site name). :)

I precut the head and beak. The stand for the turkey is just the bottom of the apple cut off and flipped over, then toothpicked (is that a word?) on. Toothpicks, marshmallows, some sort of gummy snacks/Dots type candy and an apple. Easy! If you don't have marshmallows, you can use all gummy snacks.

Thanksgiving Round-Up

Here is the round-up for our previous Thanksgiving posts:

Thankful Basket

For teaching Gratitude.











Involving Young Children on Thanksgiving Day
Tips for getting your young children involved in this holiday that can seem ambiguous to them.

Making a Menu
Have your children make a menu for the big meal.

Thankful Place Mat
Have your children make a place mat to eat off of that shows the things they are thankful for.

Positional Words: A Thanksgiving Game
A game for all ages.

Turkey Table Toppers

Make some center pieces for your meal.










Thankful Drawing

Get the whole family involved in drawing a picture of the things you are thankful for.






Thanksgiving Books
Last years Thanksgiving books.

Thanksgiving Books 2010

Here are some books for you to consider for Thanksgiving!

I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie by Alison Jackson

This story is very funny and is sure to get giggles out of your children. This is a fun Thanksgiving Read.







The Pilgrims Thanksgiving from A to Z by Laura Crawford

This book is full of infomration about Thanksgiving. It isn't just a picture book with "P is for Pilgrim". It has the letter, what it stands for, then at least a full paragraph elaborating on the item. So you could focus on the letters with your little ones (young toddlers, pretoddlers, and babies), but also go into much more historical detail with your older children (toddlers, preschoolers, an children). I really like this book.




Thanksgiving Day by Anne Rockwell

This is about chilren recounting what they learned about Thanksgiving Day. It has good information while still being interesting.







Thanksgiving Mice! by Bethany Roberts

A group of mice put on a play about the first Thanksgiving.








The Thanksgiving Surprise by Peggy Archer

Two brothers go looking for a turkey to eat on Thanksgiving. They end up coming home with a giant pumpkin instead. This is a fun story.






I'm A Turkey by Jim Arnosky
This is a fun turkey book to read. I would get this from the library, but probably not buy it.





A Plump and Perky Turkey by Teresa Bateman

Raegan mentioned this last year, but it is so good it must be mentioned again. This is our favorite turkey book this year, and really is worth it to own this one. I like it so much I found myself a little taken aback when the librarian didn't read this for story time to the Kindergarteners today--she read a different turkey book! Then I had to laugh at myself. So it is a good one.