October 27, 2022

Thanksgiving Turkey Craft

Materials Needed:

1. Paint, Markers or Crayons
2. Paper plates
3. Glue
4. Tape or Stapler
5. Scissors
6. Colored Tissue Paper

How to Make Your Turkey:

1. Paint paper plates brown and set aside to dry (if you do not have 2 different sized plates, you can cut one to be smaller).
2. Trace or have your child trace the oval template on to different colored paper. Cut out Ovals for the feathers or have child cut out Ovals on colored paper. If you do not have colored paper on hand, you can color the paper with markers, crayons, or paint. **Helpful Hint: It will be easier to color the paper before it is cut out**
3. Trace or have your child trace the triangle for the beak (on yellow paper or color paper yellow), large circle for the eyes (white paper), heart for the wattle (red paper or color paper red), and scallop-shape for feet (orange paper or color paper orange). Use black marker to make circles on white paper for eyes.
4. To add texture to the feathers, cut or tear tissue paper into small pieces. Let your child roll paper into a ball and match the tissue paper to the oval-shaped feathers. Glue to paper with liquid glue or glue stick to one half of the oval shape.
5. To assemble your turkey: glue small plate to larger plate, placing the smaller plate off center. Flip plates over and glue or tape feathers to the back of the plate. Glue eyes on small plate. Glue heart-shaped wattle upside down and glue triangle beak on top. Finally, glue scalloped- feet to the back of plates.

Enhancing Specific Learning Objectives:

Area Targeted:

Physical Therapy

1. Before assembling the turkey (step 5), place each piece of the turkey at the top of the stairs and have child retrieve each piece and assemble as they come back down.
2. Create a "Turkey Hunt" by hiding pieces of the turkey around the house so that your child can lift up objects, crawl under furniture, or walk through narrow spaces without touching walls.
3. Practice "Turkey Walking" by having your child imitate you as you move your head back and forward like a turkey! Tuck your hands into your under arm and stick out elbows to make "wings" and take slow steps 1 at a time!

Occupational Therapy

1. Use cut up sponges or cotton balls to paint the paper plates.
2. Have your child complete the above outlined steps to create a turkey while laying on the floor on their stomach.
3. Make your own turkey while your child makes theirs. Model how to put together the turkey and have your child make their turkey look just like yours to work on visual perception skills.

Speech Therapy

1. Follow one-step directions by telling the child what to do before providing a visual model (ex: "Glue the small plate on the big plate").
2. Identify the colors and name another item or several items that are that color (ex: "What color is this feather?" -Red, "Can you name 2 other things that are red?"
3. Talk about all the parts of the turkey. Once you go through the different parts of a turkey compare what a turkey has that we don't have and what we do have. "A turkey has feathers, do you have feathers?")

Social Emotional

1. Teach your child to identify one coping strategy they can use when they are upset for each feather they place on the turkey.
2. Discuss certain situations that make your child upset.
3. Print out or draw a picture of your child or a cartoon character engaging in the coping strategy that they identified on each feather. Examples of strategies include, listen to music, exercise, squeeze a stress ball, ask for help, etc.