Turkey Time
Are you looking for some fun activities to do with the little “turkeys” running around your house? I have some solutions for you!
Crafting With Kids: It’s always fun to do crafts with kids, and especially nice if they can become a keepsake or have a practical purpose. Click on the Patterns & Directions link at the end to view/print all the directions for these projects.
Keepsake Turkey Prints: My all-time favorite turkey craft is traced from my students’ feet (shoe on), and hands and then glued together to make these darling turkeys, sure to be treasured for a long time. I write this little poem on a heart that's sent home with the turkeys. “This is a turkey Oh so fine. Look at the body, It’s two feet that are mine. The feathers are traced from my hands too. I made this turkey because I love you!” The Indian corn seen in the picture I made by melting crayon shavings on yellow construction paper "corn cobs" that are covered with a sheet of waxed paper. The "husk" I made by tying on a raffia bow.
Oak Leaf Turkey: Another quick craft is Oakey The Turkey. Paint a paper plate; add some oak leaf “feathers” and a turkey head that you’ve added a bit of color to, and you’ve made Oakey!
Disguised Turkeys: Several of my fellow teachers do this idea with their Kindergarten and Preschool students and they turn out adorable; so I decided to make a pattern and letter for you to copy if this “floats your boat”. It’s a nice home-school connection to get parents involved in creating a great bulletin board or wall display.
Don’t forget to check out the Cutie Cup & Praise Turkey in the November Arts & Activities section of my side Blog! They’re quick, easy and real self-esteem builders. I also have LOTS of turkeys in my Turkey Art and Activities Book. So click on the link and have a blast decorating your classroom or home while nailing report card standards!
Click here to view/print the Turkey art patterns and directions for the above 3 projects. I've also included The Turkey Pokey song. My students enjoy singing this with whatever turkey creation they've made before they take their "masterpiece" to their locker. 
Games: I design a lot of games for my Y5’s. It’s a fun way for them to learn life skills as well as report card standards. These November games help reinforce colors, number recognition, sequencing, counting, etc. Click on the link to view/print patterns and directions. November Games.
Educational Activities: Clicking on this link will get you a turkey glyph, Venn diagram comparing our modern day Thanksgiving dinner with the 1st feast, a Native American headband activity that reinforces skip counting, patterning and shapes; a word-wall word skill sheet, + traceable- November word flashcards, and an 
“-ump” family Pumpkin spinner. Educational Activities.
Other Fun Things To Do On The Web:
Graphic Garden has an adorable free Thanksgiving bear bookmark. Print off a few, glue them to construction paper, punch a hole in the top, tie a nice autumn-colored ribbon at the top, write names on the bottom edge and use them for place cards at your Thanksgiving table.
A fantastic site for geography and history is found at our National Library site. Click on the link and click on their Jump Back In Time button and read about life during the colonial times.
To view a cute newspaper article slideshow of the turkeys at the White House click on the link The article shows a photo of the president at the time (Pix from Eisenhower to GW Bush) and also gives an interesting turkey tidbit.
To play some fun games that represent colonial times click on the link. My favorites were Revolutionary Fireworks Frenzy, where you had to light fireworks that went off in a beautiful array, Heads Up For The Colonists where you dragged hats and put them on the correct person on the ship, Paper Dolls At Play, where you dressed the Colonial girl in the appropriate clothing in the correct order.
Info.Please has some great turkey facts. I knew that Benjamin Franklin argued for the turkey to be our National bird instead of the eagle, however I didn’t know that the US processed more than 6 billion pounds of turkey! Wow! Click on the link to learn some really interesting trivia.
The HolidaySpot.com has a nice history of Thanksgiving. Click on the link. This site also has some great quick facts: Play a rousing game of tic-tac-toe against a pilgrim and turkey. Careful; it’s addicting. I had to play ‘til I was ahead. Who’d want to admit that you’d been beaten’ by a turkey!
Scholastic's is having several free Web Casts: on Nov. 2nd tour the Pilgrim village, On Nov. 9th tour the Wampanoag village, on Nov. 16th enjoy a recreation of the 1st Thanksgiving. Great for Smartboards! l copied their blip and it’s pasted below. I've been to the plantation and it is awesome! You have to sign up. Click on the link to do that.
A thirty minute online field trip to meet a Pilgrim and a Wampanoag—straight from Plymouth Plantation. Watch the fieldtrip from your classroom—or pull a few classes together in the library to take this exciting trip to visit Plymouth. Your class will also receive a series of letters from a Pilgrim and a Wampanoag.
Last summer my husband and I visited Plymouth Rock. Plymouth Plantation, a Wampanoag Village as well as viewed a replica of the Mayflower. Click on the links to view my pictures. Perhaps you can make a slide show from them or print them off to make your own picture book or b. board.
Well there it is, LOTS of fun-filled ideas to pack into your November drizzly cold days and squelch any “I’m bored!” complaints from your kids over Thanksgiving breatk. Whatever you decide to do, I hope it’s simply “turkey-riffic”!
Happy November!
