Introducing the a STEAM-packed Thanksgiving read full of turkey trouble and fun~ featured in the MaiStoryBook Library Collection:
*~Click here to purchase your own copy of “How to Catch a Turkey” to start on your own reading adventure! (This is an affiliate link~ a small percentage of your purchase will go to MaiStoryBook to help create Reading Resources for your littles)
It’s the day of the Thanksgiving Play, but the star of the play is running loose around the school! Will the students be able to catch the turkey before curtain call? Follow along as they race through the library maze, trek through the cafeteria, and bombard the classrooms trying to track the turkey down. With a delightful twist at the ending that ensures *no turkeys were harmed*, the Thanksgiving Play may just be saved after all!
This book combines STEAM concepts and action-packed, silly illustrations to create a memorable Thanksgiving read aloud. Perfect for little learners age 4 and up, readers will giggle and guffaw over the fun illustrations, and the rhyming text makes a musical and entertaining read aloud.
Thanksgiving is right around the corner, which means it’s time to start planning some fun turkey-themed activities for the kids! As parents and teachers, we all want to make this holiday season engaging and memorable for our little ones. One great way to get into the Thanksgiving spirit is by reading the popular children’s book “How to Catch a Turkey” and turning it into hands-on learning
I absolutely love using children’s books as a jumping-off point for crafts, games, and other activities. It helps reinforce reading comprehension while keeping kids excited about learning. With its silly storyline and vibrant illustrations, “How to Catch a Turkey” is perfect for sparking children’s creativity and imagination.
In this article, I’ll share some of my favorite How to Catch a Turkey activities that are sure to delight kids of all ages. They cover a range of developmental areas – from fine motor skills to problem-solving – so you can find the perfect turkey day fun for your classroom or family.
Turkey-Themed Crafts
Crafting is one of my go-to ways to keep little hands busy while encouraging creativity. It’s also a great way to reinforce fine motor skills. Here are some cute turkey craft ideas inspired by the book:
Paper Plate Turkey
Turn simple paper plates into adorable turkey faces with construction paper feathers, wiggly eyes, and an orange beak and snood. Let kids customize their turkey’s features with crayons or markers too!
Handprint Turkey
Make a keepsake turkey craft using your child’s handprint! Help them trace their handprint onto construction paper and decorate it with feathers, a beak, eyes, and legs. So cute!
Disguise a Turkey
In the story, the turkey disguises himself to avoid being caught. Have kids create silly turkey disguises using paper bags or brown construction paper. Top with feathers, eyes, and a beak for a fun turkey costume.
Fun Turkey Games
In addition to crafts, I like to incorporate games that reinforce skills like counting, patterning, and letter recognition. Try these fun turkey-themed games:
Gobble Up Counting Game
Practice counting using plastic or cardboard turkeys. Take turns rolling a die and “gobbling up” that number of turkeys. Great for number recognition!
Turkey Feather Patterns
Cut out turkey feathers from construction paper. Have kids create AB patterns by alternating colors. Extend by making ABC or AABB patterns.
Turkey Bingo
Make bingo cards with turkey pictures. Call out letter sounds and have kids cover the picture that starts with that sound. The first to get 4 in a row wins!
Creative Writing and Storytelling
The silly plot of “How to Catch a Turkey” is perfect for encouraging creative writing skills. Try these language arts activities:
Come Up with a Turkey Trap
Have kids draw or describe their own silly turkey traps like in the story. Display them for a cute turkey trap art gallery!
Act Out the Story
Let kids use props and costumes to act out the book’s storyline. Assign roles and encourage everyone to get into character – so fun!
Create a New Turkey Tale
Prompt kids to write their own version of how to catch a turkey. Bind them together to make a personalized Thanksgiving storybook.
Turkey Science Activities
Don’t forget to incorporate science and STEM skills too with these turkey-themed activities:
Build a Turkey Trap
Provide craft materials like cardboard, string, and tape and challenge kids to engineer their own working turkey traps. Test whose design traps the “turkey” (a stuffed animal) the best!
Dissection Exploration
Learn turkey anatomy up close by dissecting a raw turkey or doing a virtual dissection. Identify parts like wings, legs, and feathers.
Feather Physics
Explore concepts like gravity, force, and air resistance using feathers. Drop feathers to see how they float. Or use straws to move feathers in a race.
Thanksgiving Treats
What’s a turkey day celebration without some festive treats? Bake up something delicious with the kids:
“Turkeys” Made of Apples and Pretzels
Slice apples width-wise and insert pretzel “legs” to make a healthy edible turkey! Kids can add peanut butter or chocolate for “feathers.”
Turkey Tracks Mix
Make this yummy snack mix together by mixing cereal “turkey feed”, pretzel sticks, raisins, dried fruit, nuts, seeds, etc. Package in bags to give as gifts!
Handprint Turkey Cookies
Bake and decorate sugar cookies using your kids’ handprints for the turkey bodies and candy decorations for the feathers and eyes.
Fun for All Ages
However you choose to use it, the children’s book “How to Catch a Turkey” is a great way to kick off Thanksgiving break with engaging activities for kids of all ages. From preschoolers working on fine motor skills with crafts to older kids engineering traps and writing stories, there are so many ways to extend the book through hands-on fun.
I hope these ideas give you some inspiration to create your own How to Catch a Turkey activities this Thanksgiving season. Most importantly, remember to keep the focus on making lasting memories together as a family! What are some of your favorite Thanksgiving traditions and activities? Share your ideas below!
*My Turkey Trap* Craft
This book is busting with STEAM concepts and inspiration on every page! The students in the pictures create all sorts of contraptions using school tools around them to try and catch the turkey. This read aloud is the perfect gateway to encouraging students to engineer and design their own traps to catch a turkey. And if you are able to~ encourage littles to use actual tools and resources around the classroom or at home to actually build their trap! To get started planning your epic *Turkey Traps,* check out the bookish craft inspired by the story to draft your plans and trap ideas!
Materials
- *My Turkey Trap* Downloadable Craft Template
- Scissors
- Glue/ Tape
- Pencil
- Coloring Utensils of Choice
Directions
- Choose a “Turkey Cover Label” template. There are colored and black and white versions. There are two different headings, one personalized and one not: “How _____ Catches a Turkey,” and “How to Catch a Turkey”
- If you chose the black and white version, color it in •Write your name in the blank to personalize the craft. Ex) “How __Maya__ Catches a Turkey”
- Cut out the Turkey Cover Label Template, and Cut in Half on the dotted line.
- Next, choose a *Turkey Body Template*. There are colored versions, or black-and-white versions
- There are also differentiated response templates for picture responses, written and picture responses, or just written responses.
- Fill in the response template describing how you will catch a turkey either by drawing/ writing about your turkey trap, your plan to catch the turkey, or your step-by-step plan to catch the turkey.
- If you chose black and white, color it in.
- Cut out the Turkey Body template.
- To connect the Cover Label and Body Template, Glue the Cover Label to the body where it is labeled “GLUE” on the response template.
- The bottom of the turkey neck on the cover label should line up with the turkey neck on the body template.
- Open the flaps to reveal your plan and/or trap to catch the turkey. Close the flaps to show off your turkey craft!
How to Catch A Turkey Activity
FAQ
How do you build a turkey stem activity?
How to catch a live turkey?
How do you catch a Turkey for Thanksgiving?
Your family forgot to get a turkey for Thanksgiving and the stores are all sold out! In order to get a turkey for your Thanksgiving feast, you are going to have to design and build a turkey trap to catch a turkey. Allow students time to plan out their designs individually and as a team.
How do you teach a 3-7 year old a Turkey?
Kids ages 3-7 will love diving into the story of one silly turkey with stage fright and a school full of people trying to catch him. These print-and-go worksheets will help you do just that. What’s Included? • Color and Trace – Color the pictures of Turkey and the people in the school. Then, trace the words at the bottom of each page.
How do you make a turkey trap?
• Counting – Count the feathers on the turkeys. Identify the correct number. • Color Words – Read the color words and color the turkeys accordingly. • Letter Tracing – Trace the letters and words. Color the picture, if desired. Letters featured include Tt, Bb, Gg, Ll, Pp, and Jj. • Design It – Children will design their own turkey trap.
Is there a ‘how to catch a Turkey’ book for Thanksgiving?
So we were super excited when we saw that there was a How to Catch a Turkey that is perfect for Thanksgiving! The premise of the book is that a turkey is running loose in a school right before a Thanksgiving play, and the kids have to help catch it. Don’t worry, no turkey is harmed in the making of this book!