Time for your little turkey to take center stage in a puppet show with this easy fall craft! I like paper crafts like this because you can buy all these items for next to nothing and you probably already have most of the items needed to make one of these turkey puppets! This is the perfect fall and Thanksgiving toddler, preschooler, kindergartener, even older kid fine motor activity!
This easy fine motor craft allows kids the opportunity to use scissors to cut paper, apply and learn about glue, and provides a chance for cognitive and language skills improvement as getting excited and describing the different colors and textures of the brown paper bag, construction paper, and plastic googly eyes fosters increased language development.
To make this easy Paper Bag Turkey Puppet Kid’s Craft, you’ll need a brown paper bag, construction paper, pen, scissors, googly eyes, glue stick, and school glue. This one is SUPER easy to make – even the un-craftiest person can figure out this simple Thanksgiving toddler craft!
What is a wattle?
In case you didn’t know, a wattle is the fleshy red protuberance that hangs on a turkey’s neck. According to Chef Resource’s article, the wattle is connected to another protrusion known as the snood. Together, the wattle and snood really help define the face of a turkey. You can turn this into an educational opportunity by teaching the kids about what turkeys are made of as you guide them in creating their very own waddle and snood as part of their festive turkey puppet craft!
Benefits of Fine Motor Activities
Fine motor skills are imperative in life and toddlers should be constantly practicing fine motor skills daily to prepare them to do things later in life such as buttoning a button, tying their shoes, and writing their name. Fine motor skills enable children to develop their independence as they learn how to eat, speak, create, and are able to do many more things as these skills improve.
According to Early Impact Learning’s article, hand-eye coordination is another fine motor skill that develops from when we are babies into adulthood. When kids interact with fine motor activities, they are continually improving the link between what their eyes see and what they are trying to hold or touch.
One of the biggest reasons fine motor skills are so important is that they allow us to be independent. When kids have good fine motor skills, their self esteem improves as they are proud after building a tall tower of blocks by using the small muscles in their hands and fingers to make beautiful masterpieces they can take pride in.
Cutting, gluing, painting, sewing, threading, and weaving are fantastic ways for kids to use their fine motor skills. Many art and craft activities involve fine motor skills which allows toddlers and kids to express their creativity as they practice doing things independently.
Items needed to make a Paper Bag Turkey Puppet
Brown paper bag. You’ll need a brown paper bag to make this craft.
Construction paper. You’ll need construction paper to make the feathers, nose, and wattle. We used red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple paper.
Pen. Grab a pen or pencil.
Scissors. If kids are cutting, make sure to use kid friendly toddler scissors.
Googly eyes. We used large craft googly eyes for our turkeys.
Glue stick. Use a glue stick to glue paper to paper. When gluing paper to paper, I always use a glue stick as it’s plenty strong.
School glue. You’ll need school glue to stick the googly eyes on the paper bag as it’s stronger than a glue stick and is needed to hold the eyes on the bag.
How to make the best Paper Bag Turkey Puppet
STEP 1: Use a pen to draw feathers on different colors of construction paper (we used rainbow colors – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple), then cut them out. Do the same for the nose and mouth (the mouth is known as the “wattle”).
STEP 2: To make the nose, use scissors to cut a small corner of a piece of orange construction paper to create a triangle.
STEP 3: To make the wattle (mouth), use a pen to draw a slightly stretched out “S” shape. Refer to the post for the photo example.
STEP 4: Use a glue stick to glue the feathers to the back of the brown paper bag. Use school glue to glue the eyeballs on the bag. Using a glue stick, glue the nose and wattle under the eyes, to the paper bag.
STEP 5: If you make this craft, don’t forget to leave a rating and comment!
Recommended items to make this craft
- Brown paper bags. Brown paper bags like this are perfect.
- Construction paper. We like this construction paper best.
- Googly eyes. These large ones are great.
More fall kid’s crafts and activities you’ll love!
Turkey Headshot – Easy Toddler Thanksgiving Craft
Fall Potato Stamp Leaf Tree – Easy Toddler Craft
Popcorn Sensory Bin (Thanksgiving)
Easy DIY Thanksgiving Sensory Bin
Toilet Paper Roll Upcycled Crafts
Creepy Halloween Spaghetti Sensory Bin
Vampire Paper Plate Craft – Easy Toddler Halloween Craft
Final Thoughts
Finally, if you make this Brown Paper Bag Turkey Puppet Craft, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this craft a rating! I love to hear from everyone who makes this craft and always do my best to respond to all comments.
If you do make this craft, don’t forget to tag #elisemccollister on Instagram! It makes me so happy to see your craft photos!
Brown Paper Bag Turkey Puppet – Easy Kid’s Craft
Materials
- 1 brown paper bag
- construction paper red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple
- pen or pencil
- scissors
- googly eyes
- glue stick
- school glue
Instructions
- Use a pen to draw feathers on different colors of construction paper, then cut them out. Do the same for the nose and mouth (the mouth is known as the “wattle”).
- To make the nose, cut a small corner of a piece of orange construction paper to create a triangle.
- To make the wattle, use a pen to draw a slightly stretched out “S” shape. Refer to the post for the photo example.
- Use a glue stick to glue the feathers to the back of the paper bag. Use school glue to glue the eyeballs on the bag. Using a glue stick, glue the nose and wattle to the bag under the eyes.
- If you make this craft, don’t forget to leave a rating and comment!
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