Thanksgiving crafts that teach kids to learn and explore

To a child, nothing says Thanksgiving better than the image of a turkey. Combine that with some different colored paints and you have an interactive and easy Thanksgiving craft.

Materials:

• White paper or light-colored construction paper
• Brown, red, orange and yellow paint
• Paintbrush
• Brown marker
• Craft glue (optional)
• Googly eyes (optional)

Directions:

1. Paint your child's palm and thumb brown
2. Paint each of your child's four fingers with the orange, red, yellow and brown paint
3. Gently place your child's hand on the paper and press each finger to ensure contact
4. Draw the turkey's legs at the base of your child's palm print
5. Draw the turkey's beak off of your child's thumb print
6. Apply a small dab of glue at the top of your child's thumb print and place a googly eye on the glue

Tip: This craft can also be done on a T-shirt with fabric paint and fabric markers instead of craft paint and regular markers.

Family Craft: Handprint turkey >>

Give thanks for the Thanksgiving feast in the form of a corn craft that encourages creativity, provides choices and utilizes your child's fine motor skills.

Materials:

• White paper
• Yellow and black markers
• Scissors
• Craft glue in a shallow bowl
• Thin popsicle sticks or a paintbrush
• Dried pinto, black and red beans -- a small handful of each -- separated in shallow bowls

Directions:

1. Draw a picture of an ear of corn with a black marker
2. Color the corn with the yellow marker
3. Carefully cut around the black marker with scissors
4. Use the popsicle stick or paintbrush to apply glue on the picture
5. Select beans and place them on the picture

Encourage your child to get creative, learn their letters and communicate with family members with this Thanksgiving craft.

Materials:

• Blank postcard or piece of cardstock cut 4 inches by 6 inches
• Brown, orange, yellow and red markers
• Pencil
• Postcard stamp

Directions:

1. At the top of the postcard, write out Happy Thanksgiving -- in dash marks -- with a pencil
2. Have your child connect the dashes to write the letters
3. Draw your favorite Thanksgiving images on the front of the postcard
4. Attach a stamp
5. Address the postcard to a family member
6. Mail the postcard together

Let your child's imagination run wild as he or she pictures what leaves look like when they fall from a tree. Then venture outside and show your child what leaves on the ground and bare branches actually look like.

Materials:

• White paper or light-colored construction paper
• Brown marker
• Brown, red, orange, green and yellow craft paint in shallow bowls
• Kitchen sponges cut lengthwise, then into smaller rectangles

Directions:

1. Draw the trunk of the tree with a brown marker
2. Dip the ends of the sponges in the different paints
3. Randomly dab leaves on the picture to represent leaves

Autumn leaf crafts >>

More Thanksgiving crafts for kids

5 Fun Thanksgiving day crafts
4 Easy Thanksgiving crafts for kids
3 Fall crafts for kids