What You Need:
- Small paper plate
- Large paper plate
- Brown paint
- Paintbrush
- Construction paper or craft foam in 3 fall colors e.g., red, orange, yellow
- Safety scissors
- Pen or pencil
- Pair of googly eyes
- Stapler
- X-acto knife
- Self-healing cutting mat
- Ruler
- Photo of your child or the whole family
- Hole punch
- Ribbon or yarn
- Rectangular scarf or scrap of fabric in an autumn color (optional)
What You Do:
- Adults, start by preparing the paper plate frame. Take the large paper plate and draw a square or rectangle in the center. In this example, a 4 ¼” x 2 ¼” rectangle was made. Cut the shape out using an X-acto knife with a self-healing cutting mat beneath it to protect your working surface.
- Next, ask your child to paint the small and large paper plates with brown paint. Set them aside to dry, about an hour.
- While the plates dry, help your youngster trace their hands onto the various colors of construction paper – be sure their hands are dry and free of paint. Make a pair of left and right hand prints in each of the 3 colors.
- Help your child carefully cut out each of the handprints.
- Once the plates are dry, ask your child to glue the googly eyes onto the small plate.
- Then show them how to draw a beak and snood* on the orange and red construction paper or craft foam, respectively.
- Ask your child to cut those out and glue them onto the small plate.
- Help your child crop the photo so that it fits inside the rim of the unpainted side of the plate. Glue it face down onto that side of the plate.
- Glue the handprint cutouts onto the unpainted side of the plate. Be sure to fan them out so that they resemble feathers.
- Use a couple of staples to secure the small plate to the large plate.
- Tie ribbon or a rectangular scarf (scraps of fabric will work, too) around the area where the plates overlap. This will hide the staples and add a fancy detail that will really tie the whole look of the turkey together. Let it drape loosely over the turkey’s shoulders.
- Punch two holes at the top of the small plate and thread a ribbon through it so that your child can hang their colorful creation up for everyone to enjoy all throughout the fall season.
*A snood is the fleshy growth that hangs over the turkey's beak. It turns bright red when the turkey is upset or during courtship.
Fun Facts About Turkeys:
- Benjamin Franklin thought turkeys were so American that he wanted them to be the national bird rather than the bald eagle.
- Only male turkeys make a “gobble” sound. They are called gobblers or toms. Once grown, toms have larger and longer legs than females and grow a beard of long, black feathers in the middle of their chest.
- Female turkeys, or hens, make a clucking noise.
- Turkey eggs hatch in 28 days and baby turkeys are called poults.
- A large group of turkeys is called a rafter.
