If I had a pet turkey is a great Thanksgiving activity that combines crafting with creative writing. It can be used in the classroom for kindergartners and older elementary kids. Students will use their imagination and write about how it would be if their class had a pet turkey. What would they feed it? How would they take care of the bird?
My oldest was very excited to be in third grade as they would have a pet rat to take care of. We already have two guinea pigs and he wondered how the tree would get along. He even asked if we could take the rat not only for a weekend but for the whole summer, after school is done. I didn’t get a chance to answer because of the pandemic going on, the school decided not to get pets for third graders anymore. Maybe next year, when my youngest will be in third grade, my kids will get another opportunity. Frankly if all this is over and we get back to our normal lives by next year, I would agree to any kind of pet.
This turkey craft comes with several writing prompts:
- If I had a pet turkey,… (primary and single lined)
- If I were a turkey,…(primary and single lined)
- I am thankful for…(primary and single lined)
- Don’t eat me! (primary and single lined)
- My favorite Thanksgiving food is…(primary and single lined)
- No turkey for Thanksgiving? …(primary and single lined)
- How to cook a turkey (primary and single lined)
For more turkey ideas, make sure to check out out collection of Thanksgiving crafts.
If I had a pet turkey
Supplies:
- If I had a pet turkey template
- Cardstock paper: brown, red, yellow, white, orange and more colors
- Scissors
- Glue
How to put together a pet turkey activity
The If I had a pet turkey template comes with two versions:
1. home template – cut out the patterns and trace them on corresponding colored paper.
2. classroom template – print the pattern directly on colored paper and cut them out.
This way you can easily craft with just one or two kids as well as with a classroom full of students.
Step by step directions
Print the home template, cut out the patterns and trace them on corresponding colored paper.
Start by gluing the beak and snood together.
Glue the beak and snood in the middle of the head.
Glue the eyes above the beak.
Glue the feathers to the back of the body, three feathers on each side.
Glue the writing prompt onto the turkey.
Glue the paws onto the writing prompt paper, one paw on each side of the paper.
Glue the feet at the bottom of the paper.