Spending time in the classroom as a volunteer allows me (Litsa) to pick fun, festive arts and crafts for the students to enjoy but I think that I end up loving the finished products myself MORE. IT makes me miss my time as a classroom teacher among the students but having the memories is such a blessing after each session of art.
Last week while we were creating Turkey Gratitude Journals, we were cutting out the sides of brown paper bags—-and I knew that we couldn’t waste those edges. They instantly became turkey bodies. I used the side of the paper bags to create a ‘filled in number eight’ that became a turkey body.
The students used Elmer’s glue to adhere the turkey bodies to the white construction paper (paint grade). Sticker eyes were used to enhance the textured turkey’s features. Poster board was used to cut out the turkey’s wattle and beak. Students glued those onto their turkey faces too. The students used their crayons to add turkey legs (or shoes of any variety).
They were encouraged to make their turkeys stand out among the flock of turkeys. Each student then was called to use textured, kitchen scrubbing brushes to paint on their turkey feathers. We opted to use red, yellow, gold, and orange (since these are the colors we had on hand in both washable and acrylic paints). As the students were called to paint their turkey feathers, they wrote stories about their turkey’s personal adventure.
Materials: Construction paper, paints, kitchen scrubbing brush, glue, crayons or markers, brown paper bag and/or upcycled brown paper for body, googly eyes or stickers for eyes, poster board and/or scrap red/yellow paper for beak, writing paper for stories
This seasonal craft is the perfect paint project for the week of Thanksgiving. Little and BIG kids both can enjoy creating festive turkeys on card stock/poster board place mats that can be used around the home buffet or children’s table for Thanksgiving feasts. Turkeys can be given creative names or the stories of their adventures can be shared both orally and written. The silver lining of seasonal crafts are the memories they leave behind long after the holiday has passed.
Do you have a favorite holiday craft, painting, or idea—-or memory that’s a BIG or little part of your Thanksgiving week?
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