Some of my friends ask me if my brain ever shuts off as I’m constantly in the design mode.  Actually that’s no laughing matter as I wish there was some sort of off button located on my body, especially when I want to sleep!  But lucky for you the ideas keep popping into my head because here are some more things you might want to whip together with your little ones before they leave for break, and if you’re home schooling they make darling decorations and nice keepsakes.  

You can click on the individual links and view/print the  patterns for each of the projects, or for your convenience, click on the link at the end of the article and print all of them on one pdf.

Happy Thanksgiving Football Card What looks like goal posts are really the letters H for happy with a hidden T for Thanksgiving making this cute card a great activity for your literacy center!  Students practice  those much-needed scissor-cutting fine-motor skills and cut out the letters, then trace the words "Happy Thanksgiving" with a brown marker   A staple holds the letters together. Children glue the football to the top of the H and write "Love" and their name on it. Thanksgiving Card

I’m Thankful For My Family Turkey is a great way to practice those family sight words.  Mr. Turkey’s fork feet can hold a family photo, poem, recipe, note or "Happy Thanksgiving!" greeting written on an index card.   If you home school, you can do this on your printer.  I trimmed down a sheet of red, orange, yellow, tan and brown construction paper and put it in my printer one piece at a time.   Write  family words on the board and have the children copy which ones are appropriate for them on their feathers.  Don't forget to include pets and grandma and grandpa.  Some of my Hispanic children also live with their aunts and uncles. Help students with the spelling of their sibling's names.  Add a bit of color to the turkeys with crayons.  Alternating the colors of the feathers is a nice math pattern extension!  Thankful Turkey

Pete The Pumpkin Turkey makes a great centerpiece for your table and a wonderful family activity.  By now all of the stores have those artificial pumpkins on sale 70%- 80% off.  Pick one up and you’re ready to make Pete. While you’re waiting for dinner to get done, give everyone a feather. Print a red, orange, yellow and brown piece of construction paper master one sheet at a time.  Cut the feathers out.  Have each family member write their name at the top and list the things they are thankful for. Tape a toothpick to the bottom-back of the feathers and poke them in the back of the pumpkin.  Print my turkey head on a sheet of brown construction paper, color with crayons and cut out.  Stick on with a few glue dots.  Pete's all set to keep an eye on your guests as you gobble down your feast.  Pete the Turkey

PC the paperclip Pom Pom Turkey.  Buy a box of jumbo colored paper clips (Staples has these cool looking striped ones 100 in a box for $2.79), each turkey needs 8 feathers, + some small ones for the feet, some 2" brown pom poms for the turkey's body, a 1" pom pom for the head, and some 7 mm wiggle eyes, a few scraps of yellow and red construction paper for the beak and wattle and Elmer's or Aileen's tacky glue to hold it all together and you'll be able to make PC the paperclip Turkey.  After you've glued him to a thick piece of tag board he can be an adorable note or recipe holder.  If you feel real ambitious make an entire set for the family dinner and use them to hold your place cards!

Strut Your Students’ Or Strut Your Family’s Stuff Turkey makes a nice bulletin board if you’re a teacher, or a great keepsake if you home school.  Make extra’s and send as Thanksgiving cards to grandparents.  A  b. board caption could say: "We're gobblin' up great work!" or "Mrs./Mr. _____'s class is struttin' their stuff learning about ______".  Turkey Bulletin Board

This Is Me Turkey! My special version of that darling handprint turkey, sure to become a cherished keepsake! Trace your students' handprint on a white sheet of copy paper.  Children glue their school photo on the head (thumb) and draw on a pilgrim hat.  Help them fill out the following information on their feathers: Their age, their favorite color, their favorite food and either their best friend or their favorite thing to do. They color their turkeys, coloring the "favorite color feather" that color, add feet, a wing with the date, their name underneath, a beak, eye and wattle.  An adult cuts them out and the kids glue them to a blue background along with an explanation strip. Happy Turkey Day!  Handprint Turkey

 The Shapely Turkey A fun way to review shapes is by making this adorable little guy!  Make templates from my master and have students trace them, or pre-cut the shapes from construction paper and have your children glue them to a large sheet of green or blue construction paper.  I used brass brads to make the wings moveable.  Fold the beak for a 3-D effect and use white reinforcement holes for the eyes!  Shape Turkey

Turkey Mask: For a Gobblin’ good time, print off the turkey, (I trimmed down a sheet of tan construction paper and slipped it in my printer), have your child color Tom, cut him out, glue to the back of a large paper plate, cut out the eye holes, tape on a Popsicle stick to the back-bottom of the plate, so they can hold onto their mask, and then gobble-gobble away. Turkey Mask Pattern

 Wiggles the Paper Strip Turkey Cut out 4 strips of construction paper. (1x11) Bend them into a loop. Staple the loops together and tape them to the back of the construction paper body. Glue on wiggle eyes, a beak, a wattle, looped feet from a paper strip that is cut in half and also made into a loop and then folded so that Wiggles will stand up and you have Wiggles!  Because he sits up  he makes a darling decoration on a counter or table.   Wiggles is so quick and easy you can make some for the entire family and use these as place cards!  Wiggles Turkey

Thanksgiving Literacy Center:  Whenever I see a Scrabble game at a garage sale I buy it and use the letter tiles for all sorts of things in my classroom.  I use Ellison die cuts, draw 1-4 squares on them and then laminate the shapes.  They make a perfect themed card for my literacy center.  My students look at a sight word list and use the tiles to spell words on the seasonal - themed die cuts and then they write the word on a sheet of paper.  I've made a set of Thanksgiving ones for you + provided a list of sight words and a sheet of corn and feathers for your students to write words on.  They could also write spelling words, a little "love you" note or Thanksgiving greeting, or even some mathematical equations or fact families!  If you don't have letter tiles run off a copy of my master, laminate, cut out, and keep in a small envelope.  "Oh what fun it is to learn in the Thanksgiving  center today!"   Thanksgiving Literacy Center

Paper Plate Turkey: Tuck your morning table top lessons in this cute container made by stapling two paper plates together.  Students color, cut and glue their turkey to the plate add their name to the turkey's belly and they're all set to trot off to their lockers. I've also included some quick "trace & write" shape, number, and ABC review sheets for your students to "gobble" down.  Turkey Holder

Native American  Wet Wipe - Tie Dye Blanket: If you're looking for a quick and inexpensive color craft to do for your Native American theme day, this is it!  You can get a box of 100 wipes at The Dollar Store. I'm sure you already have a supply of rubber bands, watercolor markers and pencils in your drawer, so you're all set to make this pretty project.  There are two options as you can see by the photo. 

For a great fine motor skill have your students roll the wipe on a pencil and then put 5 rubber bands down the length of it. This will make a striped "blanket". Or have them poke their index finger through the middle of the wipe and then gather it into a column that way and you will make a circular pattern.  Once your students have put the rubber bands on they need to color any wet wipe areas that are showing with watercolor markers. They can choose a rainbow of colors or just two like I did with the yellow and brown circular patterned one.  After the wet wipes are dry, carefully snip the rubber bands and smooth out the wipes. Get ready to ooh and ahhh over your pretty tie dyed blankets.

I hope you can make some time to do these projects with your children.  Holidays are all about making memories and spending quality time with the people you love most.  Making something for someone that will touch their heart is also important.  When I do these things with my students I tell them “We’re making PAPER LOVE.”   I hope you have time to pass some on this Thanksgiving!

Click on the link to print all of the Thanksgiving Projects. This includes the descriptions in the article.