Ah, the Thanksgiving turkey — a magnificent beast, delicious feast and source of inspiration for seasonal art. Try this easy, turkey-themed project with your kids, from infants to tweens. No matter their age, they'll love seeing their traced hand come to life as a festive fowl, and you'll give thanks for the simple joys of childhood.
My family has done this craft project annually since 2007. It's delightful to see my children's hands — and artistic skills — grow with each passing year.
Materials
- markers, crayons or colored pencils
- heavyweight or construction paper in white, red and yellow
- scissors
- glue
- fancy decorations such as googly eyes, feathers, glitter glue and sequins (optional)
- straws or popsicle sticks
Instructions
- Using a pencil or marker, trace your child's hand on heavyweight white paper; let older kids do this themselves.
- Invite older children to cut out their handprints with scissors; do the honors for younger kids whose eye-hand coordination may not be up to the task.
- Cut a triangular beak out of yellow paper and a squiggly wattle (the fleshy dewlap that dangles from a turkey's neck) out of red; glue them onto the thumb of the paper handprint.
- Glue the finished puppet onto a popsicle stick or straw.
- Decorate!
- Use the puppet for a Thanksgiving-themed puppet show or make several turkeys and arrange them in a vase for a quirky holiday centerpiece.
Comments
Showing 1-1 of 1