This paper plate turkey craft is lots of fun for kids in preschool and kindergarten.
All you need is a paper plate, craft paint and some construction paper and you can make this cute turkey craft with the kids in your life.
Thanksgiving is the perfect holiday for teaching young children about thankfulness and gratitude. And, making a paper plate turkey craft is a great place to start.
Crafting is such a great way for children to learn and grow in a fun creative environment.
This simple Thanksgiving craft idea is so much fun for young crafters.
It’s an easy craft idea that can be used in the classroom or at home to introduce notions of Thanksgiving including harvest, bounty, gratitude and abundance.
Continue reading to get more information about what you’ll need to make this paper plate turkey craft and see step-by-step instructions with pictures so you can make it yourself.
Supplies
Making this paper plate turkey craft requires very basic kid’s crafting supplies.
You can pick up these materials at your local dollar store or online via Amazon.
This is what you’ll need:
- Paper plate- 1/2 will be used for the turkey and 1/2 to hold your paint
- Scissors
- Round sponge brushes in different sizes
- Craft paint in red, orange, yellow, and green
- Construction paper in brown, orange and red
- Googly eyes
- Glue – school glue or glue stick work fine
- Lid from a jar or a glass for tracing a the turkey’s circular head
- Pencil
- Paint smock or old t-shirt – to protect kids’ clothing while they craft
- Newspaper or a disposable tablecloth – to protect your worksurface
Instructions
Take a paper plate and cut it in half using scissors.
One half of the paper plate will be used to create the turkey feathers.
Pour small amounts of red, orange, yellow, and green paint the other half of your paper plate.
Using a variety of sponge brushes in different sizes, dab and paint different colors onto the paper plate.
Be creative with the patterns and placement of colors to represent the turkey feathers.
Encourage young children to experiment with different size brushes and color combinations.
Set the painted plate aside to dry completely.
Using the lid from a jar, trace a circle onto a piece of brown construction paper with a pencil. This circle will be the turkey’s face.
Cut out the traced circle with scissors.
Cut out a small triangle from the orange construction paper. This will be the turkey’s beak.
Cut out a small, rounded shape from the red construction paper to create the turkey’s waddle.
Glue the orange beak onto the center of the brown circle.
Glue the red waddle just below the beak, slightly to one side.
Attach the googly eyes above the beak, spacing them evenly.
Once the painted half paper plate is dry, position the brown circle face towards the bottom flat edge of the plate, aligning it to look like the turkey’s head with the painted section as the feathers.
Apply glue to the back of the brown circle and press it onto the plate.
Hold it in place for a few seconds to ensure it adheres well.
Allow the entire turkey craft to dry completely before handling or displaying.
More Screen Free Thanksgiving Activities
Here are some more screen free Thanksgiving themed activities we’ve created.
All these simple Thanksgiving themed crafts and activities pair well with our paper plate turkey craft.
Click on the link to be taken to the blog post where you’ll get all the information you need about each screen free activity.
Paper plate candy corn craft – an adorable pom pom craft that works on fine motor. Kids have loads of fun gluing colored pom poms to a paper plate candy corn shape.
Easy fall leaf puppets – one of the easiest craft ideas we’ve made! Perfect for really young crafters. The best part? kids will have so much fun putting on a puppet show!
Thanksgiving scavenger hunt – kids love seek and find games and this scavenger hunt does not disappoint!
Thanksgiving joke teller – playing with cootie catchers are so much fun! Especially when the jokes found inside are funny tut
Thankful turkey craft – help children express thankfulness and gratitude by making their own thankful turkey craft.
Thanksgiving placemats – a must for kids during Thanksgiving dinner! Packed with fun activities these placemats are perfect for the kids table.
Pilgrim hat craft – kids of all ages enjoy making their own paper pilgrim hats!
Thanksgiving bingo – the perfect game to play after a big meal on Thanksgiving day.
Thanksgiving coloring pages – pair these coloring pages with some of our other free Thanksgiving activities to create a holiday busy book.
Paper bag turkey craft – an adorable turkey puppet preschool and kindergarten kids really enjoy making.
Thanksgiving color by number worksheets – we love how these Thanksgiving themed worksheets work on number and color recognition.
I spy Thanksgiving – we love to play I Spy! Create an activity pack by combining I Spy with our other free printable Thanksgiving activities.
Thanksgiving word search puzzle – loaded with Thanksgiving vocab, this word puzzle is a great choice for early finishers!
Reading Recommendations
We love to read! 📕❤️
Reading is such an important skill that teaches young children about the world around them by building on language and critical thinking skills.
We love to pair all our screen free activities with books!
From crafts to free printable games – we do our very best to recommend some fun books to our readers to make screen free fun even more engaging.
Here are some of our favorite book suggestions that pair wonderfully with this easy paper plate turkey craft.
I Am Thankful – an adorable rhyming book that looks at how Thanksgiving traditions including acts of kindness and giving can differ between different families. Such a cute book for your children.
How To Catch a Turkey – a fun book from the How To Catch series has children turning their school upside down trying to find an escaped Turkey.
The Story of the Pilgrims – an excellent book that tells young children the history of Thanksgiving in kid friendly language.
Balloons over Broadway – the charming story of the puppeteer behind the giant balloons we see floating during the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade.
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving – the classic story of Charlie making a Thanksgiving feast for his friends! Can he pull it off?
Little Critter: Just a Special Thanksgiving – celebrate Thanksgiving with Little Critter and his family in Critterville.
Let’s Keep In Touch
This easy paper plate turkey craft was really fun to make.
It’s the perfect craft for teaching younger children about the true meaning of Thanksgiving.
Plus, it’s a really simple craft that’s lots of fun to make which makes it a great choice for preschool and primary school teachers.
Are you planning to make your own paper plate turkey craft?
We’d love to see the finished product. Snap a photo and reach out to us on our Facebook page to let us see your little turkey!
We may even share your paper plate turkey craft with our readers!
Got a question for us? Drop us a comment down below using a valid email address. We always do our very best to get back to you as soon as possible.
🦃 Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃