This craft is from our friend Theresa Wagar. It is a fun and festive activity especially for Thanksgiving. Theresa is always full of good ideas and willing to share them with everyone.
Thanks Theresa!

Theresa says,
"We just had a few extra kids over for the weekend so we did some Thanksgiving projects . . .the most exciting was making turkeys. We did this with two 4 year olds and they loved it!"

What you need:

• Black or Brown Construction Paper
• Yellow Construction Paper
• Red Construction Paper
• Squiggle Eyes
• Feathers
• Orange Pipe Cleaners
• Glue

What you do:

1. From the black or brown construction paper, cut two large circles for the body of the turkey (just fold it in half and use a small plate as the pattern). With scraps, cut oblong head that with straight edge along the bottom.
2. For beak, cut diamond shape from yellow construction paper
3. For red neck flap,cut narrow squiggly shape from red construction paper.
4. For legs, cut 1.5-2.0 inch pieces of pipe cleaner. Wrap one piece of pipe cleaner around bottom of another to create "feet".
5. Trim as needed.

Assembly:

1. Glue eyes in place on head piece.
2. Glue red neck flap at an angle in mid section of head (remember beak will be placed on top). Fold diamond shaped yellow beak in half.
3. Glue lower half of beak on top of red giblet. This allows the top of the beak to be free moving. Set aside head of turkey to dry.
4. On one black circle, spread glue over top half of circle. Place feathers in a fanning shape (like a turkey . . .LOL). Put longest feathers at the top so they are seen over the head. Be sure feathers are glued securely.
5. Glue two pipe cleaner feet at bottom.
6. Glue remaining black circle on top of feathers and feet.
7. Glue Head at the top of last black circle (there needs to be some over lap).
8. Let dry .. .could also place magnet on back or do this with felt instead of construction paper.
   Enjoy!

Comments

Make big brown paper bag (grocery-size) turkeys
From Ann H
I love doing Thanksgiving art projects/crafts with children...especially 4-y.o.'s ! :o) When I read Theresa's paper turkey idea, it reminded me of when I used to make big brown paper bag (grocery-size) turkeys with my nursery school classes. The children enjoyed stuffing their bags with newspaper (some of the "turkeys" got really plump, while others were kind of skinny!!! :o) and then gluing on construction paper heads, eyes, beaks, feathers (lots of them...in many different colors!), waddle, wings, and flat feet (underneath). How proud each child was---to see his turkey on the window sill of our classroom, along with the others ---each with its own "personality" ! :o)
Happy Thanksgiving!
Ann H.

Cheryl's Dryer Vent Pumpkin Centerpiece
From Cheryl
My mother and her friends took dryer vent hoses, cut them down and stapled the 2 ends together to create a circle.  Then they painted them orange, used either toilet paper rolls or such, painted brown and attached them to the middle for a stem and used florist wire and artifical leaves and created pumpkins.  They last a long time and are soooo cute.

"Turkey Soup" Gift & Fundraising Idea
This easy and charming craft is really a wonderful gift for any and all of the gobblers in your life. We have created a wonderful gift tag that you can easily download and attach to your mug to make this a special gift. The tag has an adorable picture and inside we have written a poem especially dedicated to Thanksgiving. This can be given as an inexpensive and fun favor for a Thanksgiving party, a gift for a favorite relative and friend and a wonderful Thanksgiving centerpiece.  You'll want to make them for your kids. "Turkey Soup" is also a very good project to raise money (fund raising) for organizations like the scouts, churches and/or schools.

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