Catch the Turkey – a Thanksgiving Counting Game

Get ready for a gobble-ful of fun with our Thanksgiving counting game, designed specifically to entertain preschoolers while they learn important early math skills like number recognition and counting with one to one correspondence. This is one of our favorite counting activities for preschoolers.

It ingeniously combines the joy of acting like silly turkeys with the educational benefits of learning to count using one-to-one correspondence and identifying numbers. So, as we approach the holiday season, let’s make learning more festive, engaging, and downright hilarious!

With each “gobble gobble”, your little ones will be counting their way to numerical proficiency, all while enjoying the spirit of Thanksgiving.

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With ‘Catch the Turkey’, the excitement never stops.

This high-energy game ensures that your preschooler stays engaged, making learning feel like anything but a chore. As they laugh, giggle, and yes, gobble their way through this uproarious game, they’ll be unknowingly bolstering their counting and number recognition capabilities.

And you can bet there will be plenty of turkey-like gobbling to add to the fun – a quirky touch that sets this number identification game apart.

What’s more, ‘Catch the Turkey’ is not a one-size-fits-all game, either. You can easily modify and adapt it according to your preschooler’s ability level. This flexibility ensures that the game grows with your child, providing an ongoing, enjoyable learning experience.

And if your preschoolers loves this counting game, they will also love these literacy versions: Don’t Feed the Alphabet Monster and Feed the Robot Alphabet Game.

“Catch The Turkey” Card Game

‘Catch the Turkey’ is more than just a game – it promotes learning through play.

By incorporating lots of laughter and a touch of silliness, it just makes learning counting and number recognition super fun!

Materials

Simple. All you need is the free printable from the end of this post.

The Set Up

Prepare the game by printing out all the images. Twice. You will want at least two copies, more if you are playing with a larger group. And use a color printer, too.

I printed them six to a page to get cards that are about 2.5 inches across. Use cardstock to make them last longer, and laminate them as well. Cut out the cards, mix them up and place them in a pile facing down.

Now, invite your child to come and play a fun Thanksgiving cards game!

The Game Objective

The objective of the game is to collect the most turkey cards. Players want to ‘catch the turkey’.

How to Play

This counting game was designed for preschoolers, so playing it is really simple, even if your preschooler is on the younger side.

  • Select a player to go first by drawing a card from the pile.
  • If the player draws a number card, the player reads the number and then places it in the discard pile.
  • If the player draws a turkey card, he must say, “Gobble, gobble, gobble” in his best turkey gobbling voice.
    • He then gets to keep the turkey card until the end of the game.

The player who has the most Gobbling turkey cards at the end of the game wins.

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I tried this out with my own kids before I presented it to my preschoolers, and it was a wildly huge success!

All my kids wanted to get as many turkeys as possible, mostly because we wanted an excuse to gobble like silly turkeys. During the game, however, my kids got a whole lot of number recognition practice, too!

So it’s a win-win for everybody.

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How to Modify for Different Learners

Whether you’re a veteran preschool teacher or brand new, we know that preschoolers in our classrooms come to us with a very wide range of skills. Because of that, this counting game can easily be modified so you can reach all learners.

This game actually have a few levels of difficulty.

First, you have the option of only putting into play the numbers 0-10. When doing this, also pull out half the turkeys, unless you want a whole lot of gobbling, which maybe you do!

Or, did you notice that the cards are also counting cards? This game can also be differentiated for various skills sets by using the number cards as counting cards.

Children can count the pumpkins on each card to practice one to one correspondence skills while associated the quantity on the card with the number on the card.

In fact, you can even take the number cards and add them to a sensory bin or your preschool math center during your Thanksgiving preschool theme.

Catch the Turkey - a fast paced game of number identification and counting! | This is a fast-paced Thanksgiving counting game for preschoolers | Thanksgiving math games for preschool | how to teach number recognition and counting

Thanksgiving Counting Games for Preschoolers

Games are an amazing way to capture the attention of preschoolers so you can teach them important early learning skills. Try some of these other Thanksgiving activities.

Get Your Thanksgiving Counting Game Here

Are you hooked on this game yet? You seriously have to try it. I promise, your preschoolers will love you for it!