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This Reading Mama

Fine Motor Turkeys with Playdough

By thisreadingmama 10 Comments

Fine Motor Turkeys with Playdough | This Reading MamaI wasn’t going to post about this. Really, I wasn’t. But my kiddos enjoyed doing these {multiple times, I might add} this week and the photos I shot were just begging to be shared. 🙂 This activity was so fun and so colorful…and it sneaked some fine motor work {the part I loved the most}.

Materials for Fine Motor Turkeys

materials for fine motor turkeys | This Reading Mama

  • playdough {homemade or store-bought}
  • googly eyes
  • leftover Halloween candy {we used candy corn} for the beak
  • red construction paper- I used to cut a waddle
  • regular spaghetti noodles {I was able to buy mine already chopped in half. You don’t want them regular length because they’d be too long.}
  • pony beads

Decorate Your Playdough Turkeys

using spaghetti noodles for turkey feathersMy kids {ages 3, 5, and 8 years} all enjoyed picking one color of playdough for the body and another color for the head. They created a large ball for the body and a smaller ball, about 1/3 the size of the body, for the head. They attached the head to the body, added googly eyes, a beak and the waddle. Then, they stuck the spaghetti noodles in for the feathers.

 

stringing pony beads onto spaghetti noodles for fine motor work Then, the true test of fine motor skills began! They threaded on the pony beads. This took some time…about 20 minutes or longer, depending on how many tail feathers are included.

 

sorting pony beads by colorOn another day, my 5 year old decided to sort the pony beads by color on his fine motor turkey, but kids could also decorate the spaghetti noodles with patterns, too!

 

adding feathers to playdough to make a turkeyMy daughter did some decorating of her own on the 2nd day as well! So fun!

 

More Fine Motor Turkeys or Playdough Turkeys

Here are just a few more fabulous resources you may like to keep the kids busy while the grown-ups are watching the game and the turkey’s cooking:

  • Turkey in the Playdough at Preschool | Teach Preschool
  • Play Dough Turkeys | Frugal Fun for Boys
  • Playdough Turkeys at Thanksgiving | Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails
  • Turkey Fine Motor Activity and Craft | Fantastic Fun and Learning
  • Toddler Fine Motor Turkey Craft | Dirt and Boogers
  • Fine Motor Turkey Math Game | Pre-K Pages
  • Fine Motor Turkeys in Preschool | Teach Preschool
  • Fine Motor Turkeys for Tots | Twodaloo

 

Enjoy!
~Becky

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Filed Under: Fine Motor Skills

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Comments

  1. Vanessa @Pre-K Pages says

    November 24, 2013 at 3:19 pm

    Thanks for including me in your post! Love your beautiful pictures 🙂 Your kids are so lucky to have such a fun loving mom!

    Reply
    • thisreadingmama says

      November 24, 2013 at 4:22 pm

      You’re so welcome! 🙂

      Reply
  2. teachingmamablog says

    November 26, 2013 at 2:28 pm

    I love this! Just shared on my FB page!

    Reply
    • thisreadingmama says

      November 26, 2013 at 2:31 pm

      Thanks! Have a blessed Thanksgiving! 🙂

      Reply
  3. stanleyandkatrina says

    November 26, 2013 at 9:43 pm

    Pinning this! They are adorable. Happy Thanksgiving!
    Christine/Cool Mom

    Reply
  4. Margaret says

    November 24, 2014 at 5:18 pm

    Is there anything specific you did to attach the top bead or all the beads to the noodle so that they don’t fall off?

    Reply
    • thisreadingmama says

      November 24, 2014 at 9:26 pm

      We didn’t do anything to prevent them from falling off. They just stopped stacking them before the edge. I don’t remember it being a big issue, even for my 3 year old.

      Reply
  5. Judith says

    October 25, 2017 at 5:10 pm

    I love this activity. Thanks for posting and sharing your family and fun activities. I couldn’t help but notice the mat that the kids were creating the turkeys on. Is is like a language facilitation mat or visual support for the activity? Do you happen to have a copy. It looked quite interesting. Thanks again!

    Reply
    • thisreadingmama says

      October 25, 2017 at 8:39 pm

      Those are learning mats I’ve had since I was a little girl. My mom has saved them all these years. I think they’re vinyl. 🙂

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Thanksgiving Sensory Play and Fine Motor Activities - ABC Creative Learning says:
    November 17, 2015 at 10:01 am

    […] Fine Motor Turkeys with Playdough l This Reading Mama […]

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Hi! I’m Becky, a homeschooling mama with 4 blessings who keep me on my toes {and knees}. Before homeschooling, I was a classroom teacher (M.Ed.) and reading tutor. Read more about me here.

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