Learn how to make a Playdough Turkey with just a few easy materials. This play idea is perfect for toddlers and preschoolers who will love decorating their own turkey again and again.
This little turkey is the perfect activity for Fall or Thanksgiving theme curriculums. It’s a fun way to encourage small group in your class to work on their fine motor skills. Whether you’re a mom with a few kids or a teacher with a classroom full of students, your children will have so much fun making their own creation.
If you want to make your Fall themed lessons a breeze, then check out the Fall Activity Pack. It’s filled with math and literacy centers, fine motor activities and arts and crafts templates. All of which are aligned with preschool learning standards. Check it out today.
Disclosure: Adult supervision is required for all activities at all times. Some of the links provided in this blog are affiliate links. I will be paid a commission if you use this link to make a purchase.
More Fall Themed Fine Motor Activities to try
Here are some more fun ideas that will help toddlers and preschoolers to strengthen their fine motor skills this Fall.
- Fall Tree Threading Activity
- Free Fall Play dough Mats
- Playdough Hedgehog
- Free Printable Fall Fine Motor Mats
- Leaf Sweep – Fine Motor Fun
For more ideas, take a look at these 15 Fall Fine Motor Activities for Kids.
Materials Needed
- Brown Playdough
- Colorful craft feathers
- Googly Eyes
- Pumpkin seeds (for the beak)
- Straws
Playdough is really easy to make. In fact, you can get your kids to help you do it. I love this no-cook homemade playdough recipe. It stays lovely and soft for a very long time. You’ll never go back to store-bought after you’ve tried to make your own.
If you can’t use pumpkin seeds in your classroom, then you can make the playdough turkey beak from something else. Even pieces of orange card cut into triangles would work perfectly.
How to make a Playdough Turkey
1. Roll the playdough into 2 balls. One large and one small.
Younger children (like toddlers) will probably find it easier to just squash the playdough into a pancake. They will still be able to do this activity, even if they’re too young to put the head and the body together. The most important things is that your kids have fun, so don’t worry about what the end turkey looks like.
2. Attach the small ball (the head) onto the large ball of dough (the body) by using a small piece of straw to hold them together.
3. Insert the colorful feathers and the colorful straws into the body and fan them out like a turkey tail.
If you don’t have any colorful craft feathers handy, don’t worry, you can use colorful craft sticks, or pipe cleaners instead. You can even use all three to give this turkey playdough kit a variety of different textures. Which will encourage your kids to engage in a bit of sensory play too.
4. Decorate the head with googly eyes and a beak.
The first time I did this activity with the kids, I didn’t show them how to make the turkey body first. Instead, I sat next to them and made my own. As a result, we had a lot of headless turkeys that day.
The next day when we did this activity again, I was proud to see how my preschooler had remembered and copied the way I assembled my turkey. By using a straw to hold the head and the body in place. He also added his own personal touch because he wanted to make a bird with wings instead of a turkey with a tail.
This shows how his observation skills, memory, imagination, and fine motor skills worked together to create something unique.
What You’re Learning
Creativity
Making playdough sculptures are a great way to use your imagination. Let your kids make all sorts of play dough turkeys in their own unique way.
Fine Motor Skills
Fine motor skills refer to the small muscles in the hand and fingers. Developing these skills are important in being able to write when the kids go to school, as well as being able to complete tasks independently. (For example, dressing and feeding themselves).
Rolling the play dough into balls, and posting the feathers into the playdough are all going to help young kids develop:
- Hand-eye coordination
- Dexterity.
- Hand strength
Science
This is a great opportunity to talk to your kids about turkeys. You can discuss different aspects of turkey science with your toddlers and preschoolers, such as:
- What kind of animal is a turkey?
- What do turkeys eat?
- Where do they live?
- Why and how do they fly?
Colors
Talk about the different colors you can see in the craft feathers, you can also use this fun activity to practice some color matching or even create your own color patterns.
Are you going to make this playdough turkey with your kids?
Don’t forget to pin the idea for later.
87 Pages of Fall themed play based learning activities. Perfect for preschool and kindergarteners.
