Cut and Paste Build A Turkey Craft (Printable Templates)

I’m sure your little ones will gobble up this craft – little embarrassed by that one – but anyways what we’ve got here is a build a turkey craft, perfect for keeping them busy when your preparing the Thanksgiving meal!

This simple activity is great for developing your child’s cutting and sticking skills, and an awesome chance to practice some pencil control and fine motor skills as well!

These cute turkey templates are great for preschoolers to use because they’re so simple for them to put together!

And there’s a color and a plain template – so your little ones can choose the colors and decorate their own turkeys as they wish – they could even make it look like some kind of crazy turkey-peacock hybrid if they so desire!

It could also make a lovely activity for anyone having a Thanksgiving party or for any little farmyard fans out there!

Here’s some more ‘build-a-‘ characters you may want to check out, if you get a few your little ones can mix and match – who knows what crazy characters they’ll create (turkey feathers on a robots body with a dragon’s head and wings – meet the Turkeyrobodragon!).

• Build-A-Witch
• Build-A-Robot
• Build-A-Funny Flying Monster
• Build-A-Leprechaun
• Build-A-Pirate
• Build-A-Knight

I’ve created quite a lot more characters and animals and will be uploading them soon – so be sure to check back regularly.

What Skills Can Your Children Learn And Practice?

When using these turkey craft templates, your children will have the chance to practice and develop some skills such as:

• Cutting Skills – if you feel they’re ready, you can let them have a go at cutting out the pieces all by themselves – they’ll need to be careful and have good scissor control if they want to cut out the pieces neatly
• Fine Motor Skills – when they’re sticking and picking up and moving the parts and placing them where they need to go
• General Knowledge – making this craft can be a great chance to talk turkey and introduce them to a bird they may not have heard of before
• Pencil Control – if you print off the black and white version they can practice their pencil control and develop hand strength through coloring.

This simple turkey craft will also give them a chance to practice their concentration and perseverance skills as they may find it tricky to place the pieces exactly where they want them to go.

How To Prepare This Build a Turkey Craft

First you’re going to want to download the turkey templates by clicking on the download box at the bottom of the page – I’ve made a color and a black and white version!

Other materials you’ll need:

• Safety scissors
• Card stock or Craft paper
• Some good glue
• Some coloring pencils or pens

Once you’ve downloaded the templates, you’ll need to print them off onto paper or card.

Then, you can cut them out. Or if you’d like your children to get some cutting practice, you can let them have a go.

Then you can stick all the pieces together to build your turkey.

It can be really nice to let your kids have a bit of free rein here and see if they can work it out – kind of like a puzzle.

If they’re struggling, the order I’d do it in is:

1. Stick the eyes to the head
2. Stick the snood to the head (the little red bit which dangles off the beak – told you this would be good for general knowledge!)
3. Stick the beak to the head
4. Stick the head on the body
5. Stick the wings to the back of the body
6. Stick the legs on the body
7. Stick the feathers on the body

(I expect you could have worked that out but I do like to be thorough…)

The finished one should look something like this:

What a cute little turkey- gobble gobble!

If you want to, you could always laminate the pieces before putting them together and use them as a puzzle. That way the different parts would be kept nice and they can use them again and again.

After that you’re all done!

Let your kids practice their cutting and sticking skills in a simple and fun way!

But Wait… There’s Also A Black And White Build A Turkey Craft Template!

I’ve also made a black and white version which would be an awesome way for your little ones to practice their coloring skills and personalize their turkey in their own way!

So why not crack out the pens, crayons, paints or collage (or all of them if you’re feeling adventurous) and let your kids get creative!

Fake colored feathers and googly eyes could be good here!

I’d love to see what they create!