Many art projects for kids often involve numerous art supplies or kits and require frequent and often costly trips to the craft store. For today’s art project, let’s head to the kitchen to gather our supplies! For this turkey collage art project we’ll use items we already have including paper towels and brown paper bags and also repurpose some trash to create cute turkeys perfect for the fall season.
Painting with Watercolors
Watercolor painting is a favorite art activity for my youngest students. Oftentimes though, puddles of water overpower the artwork and the bright and bold colors get washed away. I recommend practicing the watercolor painting process on a paper towel before using costly watercolor paper. As a result, children will determine how much water to use through self-discovery and exploration. I often remind my students to go “round and round” in the paint cakes to capture the bold pigment and to use less water if puddles appear. If a bit too much water is used, the paper towel’s soft and absorbent surface captures the overflow and the paint colors bleed and blend beautifully.
Materials
- Paper Towels
- Brown Paper Bag
- Watercolors
- Brush
- Construction Paper
- Scissors
- Glue
- Googly Eyes
- Bottle Caps
Step by Step Directions:
- Roll out the Paper Towels!
Paint a paper towel with watercolors. I recommend painting the entire sheet and using fall colors for this process art activity.
Teacher Tip: Tape the paper towel to a large piece of construction paper to keep it stable and also to absorb any water that filters through the paper towel.
- Feathers of Fun!
After the watercolor paint dries, cut out 5-6 large feathers for the turkey’s tail. Glue them to a piece of construction paper in a fan shape.
Teacher Tip: Let your child choose the type of background to create. I printed circles using a cup. Other options include drawing an environment for the turkey such as a farm or field scene. Or perhaps draw an array of shapes and lines as a nonobjective background space.
- Find a Brown Paper Bag!
Draw a shape for the turkey’s body and head on a brown paper bag. Cut out the pieces. Make two wings as well. If you wish to create a fun texture, crumple up the pieces and unfold them to make creases, lines, and folds.
- Turkey Time!
Glue the paper bag turkey parts to the feathers. Add details such as a beak, feet, and the snood or wattle. Reuse water bottle caps as exaggerated eyes and add googly eyes for a bit of whimsy.
Teacher Tip: Show your child photos of real turkeys and identify all the parts including the snood, wattle, spurs, beard, and caruncles. Add them to your creation if you want to make your turkey more realistic.
Talk About Art
- What kitchen items can you identify in your work?
- How many different types of paper can you find in your work?
- Give your turkey a name.
- Identify the different parts of the turkey.
- Identify the different colors and shapes in your project.
Art and Literacy
A cute book to accompany this art activity is called The Very Stuffed Turkey by Katharine Kenah. Focused on Thanksgiving, friendship, and family the story highlights an array of animals that Turkey visits on Thanksgiving day. The illustrations by Binny Talib explore numerous unique foods and fantastic fall colors.
More Turkey Fun
Looking to supplement this activity with a full Thanksgiving theme?
Find even more turkey art project ideas in this collection of 25+ turkey art projects.
Check out our full list of Thanksgiving Theme Preschool Activities!
I hope you enjoyed this art activity that included a bit of process art while also introducing youngsters to a variety of different art materials found around the house. We’d love to see your terrific turkeys! Please tag @fantasticfunandlearning and @youngschoolartwithmr.g on Instagram.
CONNECT WITH VIN GIANNETTO
Learn more about Vin here on his author bio page. Follow along with him on Facebook at Young School Art with Mr. Giannetto and on Instagram @youngschoolartwithmr.g for art project ideas.
MORE ART AND CRAFT PROJECT IDEAS FROM VIN
Fall and Fall Holiday Art Projects for Kids
Click on the images below to see the full tutorial for each art project.
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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