Something I really love is creating fun activities for kids that they enjoy doing and that help them learn at the same time. So I’m excited to share this cute shape turkey craft for preschoolers with you because it fits that description perfectly! It’s a fun Thanksgiving craft that helps young children practice shape and colors and fine motor skills as well! This easy turkey craft is made completely from 2d shapes, so it gives your little one lots of opportunity to practice recognizing and naming the basic shapes. It’s a perfect craft to do in your pre k classroom or with your child at home in the month of November. Because this turkey shape craft helps children practice shape recognition, it can double as a math activity as well! Read on for the instructions and free printable template for this cute, low prep, low mess turkey craft for kids!
List of Supplies for the Shape Turkey Craft for Preschoolers
You only need a few basic craft supplies for this preschool turkey craft.
Supplies Needed:
- Glue stick – you could also use white craft glue, double sided tape, or glue dots. I’d recommend the glue stick for little kids though!
- Colored paper – you can use colored printer paper and print the turkey template directly onto the paper, or you can use the turkey template as a pattern and trace it onto construction paper, either way works! You will want several different colors. We used brown (for the turkey body), orange for the legs and beak, and red, orange, yellow, green, and blue for the turkey feathers to make a colorful turkey, but you can use whatever colors you would like!
- Scissors
- Googly eyes – these are optional, but they add a fun touch to your shape turkey craft!
- Shape turkey template – you will find the free printable craft template at the end of the post.
That’s it!
Optional: I have also provided a colored version of the paper turkey at the end of the post. If you don’t want to bother with different colors of paper, but would rather just cute and paste, then that simple turkey is for you!
Step by Step Instructions for Making the Shape Turkey Craft
Let’s cut and glue and make a cute turkey craft!
First, print the three pages of the shape turkey template onto the appropriate colors of paper. I designed the template to minimize waste if you are making the shape turkey with multiple children, so keep this in mind as you are printing. If you are only making one, you will only need one body page, one legs and beak page, and as many feather pages as colors that you want. You will want a total of 8-10 feathers per turkey craft. If you are using the template as a pattern for construction paper, you will only need one of each page.
Once you have your template printed, I’d recommend cutting out all the shapes before assembling. This is a great fine motor activity for young children, but if your child struggles with cutting feel free to pre cut the shapes. If you are using construction paper and doind this craft with a preschooler or young child, you will definitely want to trace the shape turkey template onto the construction paper for your child before he or she starts cutting.
Now it’s time to assemble your little turkey!
Start with the turkey head, neck, and body.
Glue the neck, (the chunky rectangle), to the back of the head, which is the smaller circle.
Next, glue the neck to the back of the body, which is the larger circle.
Your turkey body is assembled! The front will look like this:
Now let’s add the colorful feathers!
Glue the long oval feathers to the back of the body in a semi-circle.
Time for the legs!
Glue the large triangles to the ends of the long thin rectangles to make the legs.
When the legs are assembled, glue the tops of the legs to the back of the body.
Now it’s time for the face!
Glue the small triangle to the turkey head to make the turkey beak.
Use the small oval for a red wattle and glue it vertically, overlapping the beak just a little bit.
Now for the final touch – the googly eyes!
Don’t those googly eyes make the turkey so cute!
Your shape turkey craft for preschoolers is finished!
Craft Variations
If you want to simplify this simple shape craft even more, you can print this color template onto white paper:
Skills & Learning Benefits
This shape turkey craft for preschoolers is a great opportunity to learn the names of shapes, practice identifying colors, and practice fine motor skills.
Tips for Success
Talk to your child about the shapes as you are putting your turkey together. Do this in a relaxed way, don’t make it a drill! You want craft time with your child to be joyful. Shape crafts are great for learning shapes in a natural way, but don’t overdo it! You can just repeat the names of the shapes as you and your child work together, or talk about them casually. This can sound like, “Now we are going to make the turkey’s head with this brown circle. We are going to make a neck for the turkey with this brown rectangle and glue it to the big circle to make the body,” and so on. Or, you can ask your child, “Do you know what we call this shape? It’s a circle!” Just don’t make it a drill.
Free Shape Turkey Craft for Preschoolers Template
Here is the free printable shape turkey craft for preschoolers template. You will need all three pages!
More Turkey Crafts
Here are some more fun turkey crafts for you to enjoy!
More Fun Crafts for Kids
Feel free to check out more fun crafts for kids by following the links below!
Thank you for visiting! I hope you come back soon!
