How to Make a Paper Plate Turkey
Paper plate turkeys are as much a part of the traditional Thanksgiving celebration as are the real things, and making one with your child is an experience you’ll likely never forget. They are easy to make and your child will delight in doing a project with you.
To make a paper plate Thanksgiving turkey, you’ll need a paper plate (or two or three or four, etc.) plenty of construction paper, some Elmer’s glue, some crayons or markers and a nice table to work on that suits both you and your child.
First, start with the paper plate. It will serve as the body of the bird. Color it brown, though some throw in some other reddish colors as well. Try to color in such a way as to appear to be feathers.
Next, cut out some pieces of the construction paper to represent the turkeys’ head and neck. Some cut out one piece for each, others cut the whole thing out as one piece. Again, the choice is yours. To help you figure out what shape to make them, you might dig up a picture of a turkey, or even a paper plate turkey that someone else has made.
Next, cut out another piece of construction paper for the crown and waddle. Both are generally red. One goes on top of the head, the other under the throat.
After that, cut out some yellow paper for the beak, and some yellow or orange paper for the legs and feet.
Then, glue your bird together.
While the glue is drying you can cut out a bunch of different colored feather shapes from different pieces of construction paper. The easiest way to do this is to draw a feather shape on one piece of construction paper, then use it to trace the others. This will help your child draw and cut as well.
Then, when the glue is dry, all you need to do is glue those feather onto the body of your bird.
Finish by drawing or coloring to add texture or features to the various parts of your turkey to make him look more like a real bird.
Once the turkey is done, you can then glue a piece of yarn to be the back of it to serve as a means of hanging your results so that everyone can admire the work you and your child have done together.
After that, it’s hugs all around in celebration.
