Thanksgiving is a unique holiday that’s perfectly suited for teaching kids about gratitude!

Families across the US gather together, share a special meal and talk about all the things they’re grateful for.

After the big meal, why not come together and make this paper plate turkey craft? It’s a simple way to build special family memories and get the kids thinking about their blessings!

Read or watch our step-by-step video tutorial below to see how easy it is to make with your kids.

Also, be sure to look through all of our turkey activities for kids!

Turkey Craft For Preschoolers

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Paper plate crafts are some of kids’ favorite activities because they love seeing something ordinary transform into a cool new art project!

Moms love them because they’re simple, only require a few supplies, and are great for a wide variety of young children.

If your kids love paper plate crafts where they paint, they’ll especially love this turkey craft.

Supplies

• Paper plate
• Brown acrylic paint
• Colored cardstock or construction paper
• Glue stick
• Paintbrush
• Scissors
• Paper plate turkey craft template (enter your email in the form at the end of this post to have the link sent to you)

Directions

Download the turkey craft template, print, and cut out the pieces.

Paint the paper plate brown and let dry completely.

Glue the turkey wing in the center of the paper plate.

Assemble the turkey head by gluing the eyes towards the top of the head.

Glue the snood onto the beak, then use scissors to trim the excess off.

Glue the beak onto the head, just below the eyes.

Glue the completed turkey head onto the paper plate.

Position the feathers along the backside of the paper plate and glue them in place.

Place the feet at the bottom of the paper plate and glue them in place.

That’s all the steps to make a simple Thanksgiving craft for kids!

Craft Template Versions

This craft is so simple and works great for toddlers (with help of course), preschoolers and kindergarten children.

Inside the template download, there are two different versions. One is for home use with just a couple of kids. You’ll print it out on white card stock, then trace the pieces onto the colored card stock of your choice.

The other version has multiple copies of the same piece all organized by the colored paper it should be printed on.

This type is great for doing in classrooms, daycares, and library storytime. You’ll just print it out directly onto the colored card stock. The kids won’t need to trace any pieces and they’ll only have to cut them out one time.

Thankful Turkey Craft Idea

As moms, we’re always trying to find ways to help our children recognize the abundance of blessings present in their lives.

With young kids, it’s not always easy, but this turkey craft can help!

If you want to turn this craft into a gratitude turkey, all you need to do is add the things your child is thankful for onto the turkey’s feathers.

We used a black sharpie, but you can use whatever you have at home.

Sometimes it’s hard for kids to answer the question, “What are you thankful for?”, so we thought we’d give you a list of a few questions that may help your child think of things in a new way.

Ask them questions like:

• What’s your favorite toy?
• What’s your favorite thing to do?
• What made you smile today?
• What’s the best thing about your house/room?
• Who do you like spending time with?
• What’s your favorite food?

Hopefully, these questions will get the ball rolling and your child thinking of all the amazing blessings they have in their life!

This craft would be perfect for the kids to do while Thanksgiving dinner is being cooked. It’ll keep them occupied and then during dinner, they’ll be able to share with the family all the things they’re thankful for!

Thanksgiving Ideas For Kids

Thanksgiving is a great time to teach kids about the importance of being thankful, pilgrims, and being with family. And what better way to do that than to throw together a Thanksgiving themed unit for kids that is not only fun but educational too?

We have lots of ideas that will keep kids busy and engaged. Read on below for our favorites!

Thanksgiving Children’s Books

One of our favorite things to start with is books. Reading to your kids is not only a fun way to spend time with them but also great for helping them improve their vocabulary and develop a love of reading!

Below are some of the top Thanksgiving books for kids!

Turkey Trouble – If you’ve never read this book, you have to add it to your holiday collection! It’s so cute and fun and kids just love it! Follow the turkey around the farm as he disguises himself as different animals so the farmer doesn’t catch him for Thanksgiving dinner!

How To Catch A Turkey – Kids who love the How To Catch books will want to see all the crazy contraptions kids make to try to catch a turkey loose at the school!

Pete The Cat: The First Thanksgiving -Every Pete the Cat book is fantastic, but this one takes it up a notch with flaps for the kids to open. It’s a great way to get the kids excited about reading and Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Kids’ Crafts

Thanksgiving is the perfect time to get crafty with your kids! Not only are there a ton of Thanksgiving-themed crafts to choose from, but working on crafts together can have some great benefits for your children.

For one, it can help them to express their creative side. Another way it can help is to boost their self-esteem. Finally, it’s just so much fun!

So this Thanksgiving, put down the pumpkin pies and turkey roasting, and enjoy some quality time crafting with your kids. Try out these fun ideas:

Handprint Pilgrim Craft – This Thanksgiving, why not have the kids make their own handprint pilgrims? It’s a great way to keep them occupied during the long holiday weekend, and it’s also a lot of fun. Plus, no messy paint is needed! All you’ll need is some paper, scissors, glue, and our free template.

Flamingo Turkey Disguise Craft – Mr. Turkey is up to his old tricks again, disguising himself as a flamingo! But with this easy and fun flamingo turkey disguise craft, your kids can help Mr. Turkey fool the farmer and stay safe this Thanksgiving.

Name Turkey Craft – Another year, another turkey crafts project! This year, help your little ones learn how to spell their name with this fun and easy name turkey craft. Just download the editable template, print it out, and let them go to town creating their very own personalized turkey.

Acorn Paper Bag Craft – This cute and easy acorn puppet craft is perfect for kids to make and play with. The best part is that it requires only a few supplies that you probably already have around the house.

Thanksgiving Kids’ Activities

This Thanksgiving, why not give your kids something that will keep them entertained and learning – these free printable turkey worksheets! This set can help kids with handwriting, scissors skills, letter recognition, and more.

These turkey connect the dot printables for kids are great for helping little ones practice their fine motor skills. Each printable features a different turkey, with dots to be connected in order to complete the picture. As kids work on each one, they’ll be improving their pencil control and coordination.

Share With Us

Did you make this paper plate turkey craft with your child or students?

We’d love for you to take a picture of the completed project and post it to our Facebook wall or in our private Facebook group.

Paper Plate Turkey Template