Turkey Art Activity that Focuses on the Process
Kickstart your festive season with a creative turkey art activity designed especially for preschoolers. Our preschool November lesson plans bring the holiday spirit right into the classroom with fun and educational crafts.
Not only does does this activity work fine motor skills, but it also engages children in Thanksgiving concepts in a fun and memorable way. By participating, children can learn about traditions and symbols associated with the holiday while developing a love for arts and crafts.
You’re going to gobble up this turkey art activity!
This unique project involves painting a vibrant background with feathers, symbolizing the colorful plumage of a turkey. The children then overlay this with pieces of construction paper to create their own Thanksgiving turkey craft.
It’s a little process art and a little craft combined. Read here about all the benefits of process art, too!
Not only does this activity foster creativity and fine motor skills, but it also introduces students to the traditional symbols of Thanksgiving in an engaging and hands-on way.
Get ready to fill your classroom with vibrant colors and happy little artists this Thanksgiving!
Turkey Art Activity for Preschool
Turkey Thanksgiving activities are the best way to help preschoolers engage in the holiday.
Like in this turkey process art activity. It’s a great mix of process art and craft, making it suitable for all ages, from toddler through elementary school, but especially preschoolers.
Materials
- sturdy paper for painting
- washable tempera paints
- brown and orange construction paper
- googly eyes
- rainbow colored feathers
- clear drying school glue
- cheap paper plates for paint pallets
- Cricut cutting machine (absolutely optional, but super handy in general)
The Set Up
Set up just requires a tiny bit of prep work.
- Use a Cricut cutting machine to cut circles, six inches in diameter.
- Or print a circle and have your preschoolers cut them out for some awesome scissor practice.
Check out this post about tips for teaching scissor cutting.
- Cut out some little bird feet and small triangles for the turkey beak.
- And if you want, grab some scraps of red construction paper and cut out a snood.
- Set aside.
- Create a painter’s pallet by using a cheap paper plate and add dollops of paint.
- Add a color-coordinated feather to each dollop of paint.
Thanksgiving Process Art
The preschoolers were surprised to see there were no paint brushes available, but it didn’t take them long to pick up a feather to use instead!
Now, there are two reasons for the color-coordinated paint and feathers.
- The preschoolers get extra practice in naming and matching colors, which…
- helps keep the paint from becoming contaminated by other colors.
The preschoolers started by using the feathers to paint a colorful background on their paper.
They delicately glued on feathers. We like to use liquid school glue because squeezing glue helps strengthen their hands, which will help with writing development.
Glue on the turkey brown circle body, the beak, googly eyes and the snood (if using). And we ended up with the crazy cute and colorful turkeys!
And this.
Like I said, they are a great mix of process art and craft. Preschoolers get to make lots of choices while making these, but they are just crafty enough that they make sweet keepsakes for the parents.
Process Art for Thanksgiving
Incorporating process art activities into your Thanksgiving plans for preschoolers can significantly enhance their learning experience.
They provide children with an engaging way to learn about the Thanksgiving holiday while expressing their individuality through art.
Whether it’s painting with feathers or crafting colorful turkeys, these process art activities are a valuable addition to any Thanksgiving themed lesson plan for preschoolers.
- Gratitude Garland
- Thanksgiving Nutrition Process Art
- Thanksgiving Turkey Puppets
- Turkey Feet Pipe Cleaner Painting
- Thanksgiving Necklaces
Process Art Activities
Adding process art to preschool plans encourages creativity, builds fine motor skills, and promotes independent thinking.
It lets children explore various materials and methods, enhancing their problem-solving abilities. It’s a great way to cultivate a passion for learning and creativity in young learners.
Here are some of our most popular process art activities for preschoolers.
Turkey Process Art Activity
Preschool classrooms in November are typically filled with lots of turkey crafts, and rightfully so.
I love turkey crafts for preschoolers, but I also love to offer process art opportunities.
This turkey art activity is the best of both worlds! It is process art meets turkey craft.
The result is lots of artistic creation and exploration, but also an end product that you can hang up as a festive Thanksgiving decoration!
The best part?
The preschoolers don't just use feathers to decorate their turkeys, they also get to use them as paintbrushes.
And boy do they LOVE doing that!
Materials
- sturdy paper for painting
- washable tempera paints
- brown and orange construction paper
- googly eyes
- rainbow colored feathers
- clear drying school glue
- cheap paper plates for paint pallets
- Cricut cutting machine (optional, but helpful)
Instructions
- The Set-up:
- Use a Cricut cutting machine to cut circles (6 inches in diameter).
- Alternatively, print circles and have your preschoolers cut them out (scissor practice is always great!)
- Cut out some little bird feet and small triangles for the turkey beak.
- Grab some scraps of red construction paper and cut out a snood. (optional)
- Next, create a painter’s pallet by using a cheap paper plate and add dollops of paint.
- Add a color-coordinated feather to each dollop of paint.
- Time for the Preschoolers to Create:
- The preschoolers will use the feathers (as their paintbrushes!) to paint a colorful background on their paper.
- Next, the children will carefully and delicately glue on some feathers.
- Finally, the preschoolers will glue on the circular turkey body, the googly eyes, the beak, and the snood (if you are using one).
That's it! Your preschoolers get the chance to make artistic choices and create while also ending up with an adorable turkey!
Notes
There are two main benefits of using color-coordinated paint and feathers:
- The preschoolers get extra practice in naming and matching colors.
- This helps keep the paint from becoming contaminated by other colors.
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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.
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