Non-Turkey Preschool Thanksgiving Craft

Are you looking for a unique non-turkey Thanksgiving craft to add to your Thanksgiving preschool lesson plans? Look no further! We have the perfect activity – a corn craft.

This fun and engaging project is an excellent way to teach kids about the importance of corn in the history and celebration of Thanksgiving. It’s easy, educational, and provides a refreshing deviation from the traditional turkey crafts.

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Get ready to shake up your Thanksgiving preschool lesson plans with our unique non-turkey Thanksgiving craft – a vibrant corn craft.

This art activity involves preschoolers crumpling small pieces of yellow or orange tissue paper and sticking them onto an ear of corn template.

But it’s not just about art; this craft also doubles as a counting game. And who doesn’t love some Thanksgiving counting games that double as art?

It’s a refreshing change from the usual turkey crafts and a memorable way for little learners to celebrate the season.

Why Non-Turkey Crafts

Preschool teachers might consider non-turkey crafts for Thanksgiving to enhance their art activities for a few reasons.

1. It diversifies the children’s creative exposure, allowing them to explore different symbols and elements associated with the holiday, such as pumpkins or cornucopias.
2. It caters to cultural inclusivity. Not all children may celebrate Thanksgiving in the traditional turkey-centric way, so incorporating a variety of crafts can make everyone feel included.
3. Non-turkey crafts can also be a fun way to incorporate educational elements, like teaching about the harvest season and the importance of gratitude.

Thanksgiving Corn Craft for Preschool

Prepare to enrich your Thanksgiving preschool curriculum with our distinctive corn craft, a colorful deviation from the usual turkey-themed projects.

It’s a refreshing alternative to standard turkey crafts, providing an unforgettable way for young students to embrace the holiday season.

Materials

• yellow tissue paper cut into one or two inch squares
• heavy cardstock, cut into the shape of an ear of corn
• liquid school glue
• green construction paper with leaf shape traced on
• dice
• ten frame for counting (optional)

The Set-Up

The set up for this corn craft is pretty simple.

• Cut out an oblong egg shape from the heavy cardstock.
  • This does not need to be exact. Just wing it.
• Cut out the same shape in green, but make the narrow end pointed.

Do the above for each child and set aside.

Then, cut the yellow tissue paper into about two inch squares. This also does not need to be exact, but our favorite tissue paper is this set of with three shades of yellow tissue paper.

How to Make the Corn Craft

Begin by inviting your preschooler to join you in crumpling up the pieces of tissue paper to make “corn kernels.” You don’t want to crumple them too small, or you will need a TON of tissue paper.

But if you crumple them too loosely, they will lose the corn kernel look. Somewhere in the middle is best.

This is one of the fine motor pieces to this non-turkey Thanksgiving craft.

This step can be done completely in advance, or your preschoolers can crumble as they go.

Corn Counting Craft

Once all the materials are prepped, it’s time to dive in!

Have the children load up the cardstock ears of corn with liquid glue from about an inch from the bottom all the way to the top. Squeezing the glue onto the paper is another great hand strength exercise.

Next, invite your preschooler to roll the dice and count out the coordinating number of crumpled tissue paper corn kernels to add to their ear of corn.

I had my preschoolers first place their tissue paper corn pieces on a ten frame, to help them count the amount correctly each time.

Continue rolling the dice and adding corn kernels until the ear of corn is full. The kids’ pincer grasp will have gotten a great workout by this time! Set the completed ear of corn aside and allow it to dry.

Fold each green corn leaf in half, and then glue to the main piece. It should look like the picture below.

Thanksgiving Crafts for 2 Year Olds

This corn craft is really fun for toddlers, too! Just take out the counting aspect if they are really young. Here are some other non-turkey Thanksgiving crafts for two year olds.

• Sponge Painted Turkey Hats
• T is for Turkey Craft
• Turkey Suncatcher Craft
• Bubble Wrap Corn Craft

Non Turkey Thanksgiving Crafts

Looking for even more non-turkey Thanksgiving crafts for preschoolers? These are really creative!

• Layered Pumpkins Craft
• Indian Corn Craft
• Gratitude Leaf Garland
• I’m Grateful Tree

Don’t Forget Thanksgiving Picture Books

High quality literature is so important for kids, and is a perfect addition to every preschool theme! We’ve hand-picked some of our favorite Thanksgiving books for you, and thrown in a few about harvest and Thanksgiving foods as well!

Non-Turkey Thanksgiving Craft

Yield: 1 corn craft

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Active Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Difficulty: easy

Turkey crafts are cute and festive, but I love a good non-turkey Thanksgiving craft, too! Here's a Thanksgiving corn craft that also doubles as a number identification and fine motor activity.

Print

Materials

• Yellow tissue paper cut into one or two inch squares
• Heavy white cardstock
• Liquid school glue
• Green construction paper
• Dice

Tools

• Ten frame for counting (optional)

Instructions

1. Crumple the tissue paper squares into small "kernels." Cut the cardstock into the shape of an ear of corn, and draw two leaves on the green construction paper.
2. Have the kids cover their cardstock corn with glue, leaving about an inch of room at the bottom.
3. Invite the kids to roll the dice, count out the number of tissue paper "kernels" (double checking with the ten-frame, if desired,) and then add the kernels to the ear of corn.
4. Continue rolling the dice and adding the appropriate kernels until the entire ear of corn is full. Set aside to dry.
5. Once dry, fold the green leaves in half and glue to the bottom of the ear of corn.

Sarah Punkoney, MAT

I’m Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home-mama of five! I’m the owner and creator of Stay At Home Educator, a website about intentional teaching and purposeful learning in the early childhood years. I’ve taught a range of levels, from preschool to college and a little bit of everything in between. Right now my focus is teaching my children and running a preschool from my home. Credentials include: Bachelors in Art, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction.

stayathomeeducator.com/