Today’s Activities: Hand and foot turkey and Writing with a feather

 

You may find it interesting to look at these wild turkeys before you begin this activity.

 

 

Construction paper: brown, yellow, red, green, purple, and orange, scissors, glue, a crayon or marker, and googly eyes

 

 

 

 

Decide which family member’s shoes will make the best body for your turkey, then trace each one onto brown construction paper and cut them out. Put the heals together to form the head, then pull the wider end of the cutouts apart to form the turkey’s legs. Glue the body into place once you like what you see.

 

 

Hand and foot turkey by Fran W.

To make the tail feathers for your turkey, trace each hand one time on a piece of construction paper, then place multiple layers of colored paper together and cut out all the hands at one time. Be sure to keep a firm grip on paper to prevent shifting. Glue the hands to the back of the body in layers to make the turkey’s tail as colorful and full as possible.  

 

 

 

 

Once you have your body and tail the way you like it, make and glue on its wings, feet, eyes, beak and wattle (the red thing on its face).

Hang your family-style turkey up on the wall for everyone to enjoy!

 

 

Before people used pens and pencils, they used sticks, feathers, and other natural items to write or draw messages to one another. Take a step back in time by writing with a feather!

A large feather

Water color paint

Toothpick

A small bowl of water

Paper

Scissors

Tip: You can find large feathers out in nature or they can be purchased in a craft store.

Make ink:

At one time people would use ashes, berry juice and natural dyes to make dipping ink to write and draw with, now we can purchase ink or make our own ink out of water color paint.

 

 

To make your own ink, put enough water in your water color paint to create a little pool of colorful liquid.

 

 

To draw or write with a feather you will need to either push a toothpick through the bottom of your feather or snip the tip off the bottom until you see an opening (clean with a toothpick if needed). Dip the feather in the pool of colorful water and write or draw on paper with it. Dip the tip into your homemade ink as often as needed. Wash off the tip in the bowl of water and dip it into another pool of liquid color. 

Cut your tip at a slight angle and see what happens when you do that.

 

When your paper dries, roll it up and give your message to someone to read. If you do not have a feather, try using a stick that has been whittled to a point.

 

 

Turkey’s were nearly extinct by the 1930’s. Today, there are over 7 million wild turkeys! 

 

When and how did the turkey population get replenished?

 

 

 

Turkey history – learn how the turkey population was replenished.

 

History and general information about wild turkeys.

 

Information and facts about turkeys – learn how the turkey got its name.

 

FranW.com:  Turkey Trivia/Research Fun –