Fall Leaf Collage

Fall Leaf Collage

As the leaves begin to fall, take the children on a nature walk and encourage them to gather as many leaves as they can.  Once you get back inside,let the children glue their colorful leaves to a sheet of construction paper to create a collage.

Scarecrow Fun

    

Straw / Hay Paintbrush Painting

Let the children paint with straw or hay.  Tie together several pieces and use as brushes. 

 

The Floppy Scarecrow

The floppy, floppy scarecrow

Guards his field all day.

He waves his floppy, floppy hands

To scare the crows away.
   

Repeat the poem, replacing the underlined body part word with each of the following in turn:  arms, elbows, head, legs,  knees, feet, ankles, toes.... can your children think of any others?

   

Head to Toe With a Scarecrow

Make a felt scarecrow and crow for your flannel board.   Display the scarecrow on the board.  Place the crow on the scarecrows knee and begin reciting the chant below.  Pause before saying the bold faced word and have the children name the appropriate body part.  Move the crow to the next body part and continue with the chant.

Scarecrow, Scarecrow

Can't you see?

A big black crow is sitting on your knee.

Scarecrow, Scarecrow

Don't you care?

A big black crow is tangled in your hair.

Scarecrow, Scarecrow

Don't you know?

A big black crow is sitting on your toe.

Scarecrow, Scarecrow

Be a little bolder,

Scare that crow that's on your shoulder.

      

Our Scarecrow's Height & Weight

Each year we fill clothing with newspapers to make a scarecrow for our class. We vote on a name, then we measure his height and weigh him.

Turkey Arts & Crafts

Turkey Handprints

Paint all the fingers different colors and the palm brown. Make handprint on a sheet of paper. Add details... waddle, eyes, and feet to make it look like a turkey. Here is a cute poem to add with it or to make a card from it.

This isn't just a turkey,
As anyone can see,
I made it with my hand,
Which is a part of me.
It comes with lots of love
Especially to say,
I hope you have a very
Happy Thanksgiving Day!


Turkey Puppets

Have each child make a open hand print of their hand. Color in the four fingers for the feather's and the thumb for the head.  Attach to a Popsicle stick or tongue depressor.

- or -

Trace each child's hand on brown paper. Then cut them out. Each child then glues different colored feathers onto the traced hand. When dry, attach it to a Popsicle stick. At circle time we sing a turkey song and use
our puppets.


Pine Cone Turkeys

Take any size pine cone, add a fun foam or construction paper head on the flat end and feathers to the opened end. They make great center pieces.


Turkey Art

Fold a coffee filter in half 3 times so that it is the shape of a small triangle. Prepare 4 small containers of green, red, yellow & blue water. Dip each point into a color and then dip the middle of the filter in the last color. Open and let dry. These will be the turkey's feathers. Give the children a tracer that looks like the shape of a bowling pin. That will be the turkey's body. Have them trace and cut it out of brown paper. Glue the turkey's body to the opened coffee filter and decorate.


Easy Turkeys

For a simpler craft, print out copies of a turkey outline. They can add feathers in several ways: thumbprints in water colors, glue real feathers on it, cut out feather shapes from colored construction paper and glue on, glue on crumbled fall leaves, even just color it.


Potato Turkey

Take an uncooked potato and have children insert feathers on one side being careful to choose the feathers with the firmest "stem". Glue on wiggly eyes. Use red felt for a "gobble". Fold yellow or orange diamond shape cutout to make a beak.  Insert 4 toothpicks in bottom half to make him stand.