Color identification, matching, and sorting are all important early math skills in the preschool years. We like to explore these skills in hands-on and meaningful ways. For a fun Thanksgiving themed color sorting activity, we used our Thanksgiving color sorting turkey mats with some loose parts. Kids will love this hands-on approach to color sorting and matching, and you will love the free printable!
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Materials
- color sorting mats
- assorted manipulatives to sort: craft feathers, pom poms, play dough, toys, etc.
- sheet protectors (optional)
Getting Started
To prepare for this Thanksgiving color sorting activity, first print out the free printable turkey color sorting mats. You may choose to work on all of the colors available, or a select few. We decided to focus on just a few colors at a time and therefore went with some fall colors. We also gathered some manipulatives such as craft feathers, pony beads, chenille stems, and pom poms in corresponding colors.
To extend the life of these color sorting mats, we recommend printing them on durable card stock paper and laminating. Sheet protectors are also a great option for longevity!
Turkey Mat Color Sorting Fun!
First, you’ll want to review the color names you are working on and demonstrate to children how to sort items by color attribute. Once students are ready to begin, let them sort away.
Little fingers will get great fine motor practice as they grasp and place all of the manipulatives onto their proper color mat.
Extend the fun by gathering small toys from around the classroom or home that match the color mats you are focusing on.
Introducing the toys for added practice proved to be lots of fun as kids enjoyed exploring the new colorful toys. A little creative play time also happened as the brown horse trotted on over to the brown mat and the yellow race car zoomed on over to the yellow mat!
Besides the fun that was had playing with new toys and exploring the craft manipulatives, we were able to incorporate meaningful vocabulary as we discussed each piece. You could extend this activity even further in your discussions by naming the beginning sounds of each item placed on the colored mats.
This color sorting turkey mat would make an excellent addition to a small group lesson, center activity, or even to occupy those little hands while the Thanksgiving meal is being prepped! We hope you enjoy them as much as we have!
Download the Thanksgiving Color Sorting Turkey Mats
The free printable Thanksgiving Color Sorting Turkey Mat set comes with the orange, yellow, and brown mats shown above. Click the link below to request your copy.
Click Here to Get Your Free Turkey Color Sorting Printable
If you’d prefer to include more colors in your turkey sorting, the Thanksgiving theme lesson plans set includes all the colors of the rainbow as well as ink-saving black and white versions of the color sorting mats.
GET A FULL SET OF THANKSGIVING THEME ACTIVITIES
The 159-page Thanksgiving Lesson Plan Set includes hands-on activities and these additional printables:
1) Pumpkin Pie Letter Matching (in color and b/w)
2) Rhyming Turkey Game
3) Turkey Color Sorting Mats (in color and b/w)
4) Turkey Counting Mats 1-20 (in color and b/w)
5) Look at the Turkey Emergent Reader (3 variations)
6) How to Make a Pumpkin Pie Sequencing Cards (in color and b/w)
7) 0-35 Turkey Number Cards (4 variations)
8) Phoneme Segmentation Turkey Activity
9) Thanksgiving Taste Test Recording Sheet (in color and b/w)
10) Thanksgiving Picture-Word Cards (in color and b/w)
11) Thanksgiving Roll and Graph (2 variations, in color and b/w)
Also available on Teachers Pay Teachers.
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