Intro:
Celebrate the Thanksgiving turkey by creating your own out of a few simple supplies! In
this activity, children will combine objects like paper cups and pom-poms while creating
their own colorful turkey feathers. A great way to cultivate creativity and practice fine
motor skills!

Set Up Ideas:
Create a display with all of the materials, including construction paper, pom-poms, paint
and cups, along with some completed models for children to visualize what their own
creation will look like.

Let’s Get Started:
To complete these charming little turkeys, you'll need to gather paper cups, 2'' pom-poms,
construction paper in several fall colors (brown, orange, yellow and red), brown paint and
wiggly eyes. Self-adhesive wiggly eyes work very will and save the mess of glue.

Tips and Tricks:
To complete this activity with younger children, you may need to help them as they cut
their pieces or trace outlines for each shape that they may cut out themselves. Provide
encouraging assistance when necessary.

Follow up Activity:
Use remaining cups for a Thanksgiving-themed pom-pom cup toss game! Provide
children assorted colored pom-poms, have them name a food the same color as the pom
(e.g., broccoli, blueberries, mashed potatoes) and toss it into the Thanksgiving basket
(cup).

Children may be interested to learn that the turkey was almost our country's national
bird! Benjamin Franklin was a great admirer of the turkey and the way that turkeys
defend their territory. The bald eagle prevailed as our national bird, but Thanksgiving is
all about the turkey!

Steps:

1. Children may be interested to learn that the turkey was almost our country’s national
   bird! Benjamin Franklin was a great admirer of the turkey and the way that turkeys
   defend their territory. The bald eagle prevailed as our national bird, but Thanksgiv
2. While the painted cups are drying, cut several pieces of construction paper into the shapes
   of feathers, a beak and a wattle. Experiment with using different colors to create the
   turkey’s bright feathers.
3. Once the painted cups are dry and all the construction paper pieces are cut, glue a large
   pom-pom on top of the cup. Then, glue eyes and a beak onto the pom-pom to create the
   turkey’s face.
4. For the final step, glue the feathers onto the back side of the cup. Try gluing a row of
   feathers with some space between them, then adding a second row to fill in the gaps.