Turkey crafts for tweens

Posted by Heidi Shelton-Jenck Nov 15, 2006

Turkey crafts are fun for tweens - as long as they don’t involve handprints, toilet paper rolls and paper plates. Older kids have already made a dozen handprint turkeys in their lifetime. They are ready for crafts they can make independently. Their fine motor skills are refined and they can follow directions all by themselves. Tweens delight in using unusual supplies. They can handle complex directions. And, they especially don’t want to make something that looks “babyish”. Crafts for younger kids are still fun for tweens, but only when they can be “helpers” for little ones.

The web is a great place to find craft ideas. I set my tweens loose on the web and asked them to bookmark interesting turkey craft ideas. I asked them to choose craft directions with a photo or illustration. Then we tried some of them out.

Here is a round-up of five great turkey crafts for tweens:

The gourd turkey is especially cool because it involves corn husks and cloves – not your typical craft supplies. My tweens loved the red glove feet.

Thanksgiving potholders are perfect for tweens. At this age kids love to make practical things they can use. We made extras to give to Thanksgiving day guests.

This beaded safety pin turkey looked like a fun craft. My boys had made beaded safety pin crafts before in Scouts, and weren’t interested in trying it again. But they thought other kids their age might enjoy it.

Place card holders are something we make every year for our feast. The boys chose this turkey place card holder because it was made out of real feathers instead of a paper printable. They made these all by themselves except for my guidance when they used the hot glue gun.

Anything edible is usually a popular tween project – especially when it involves candy. This edible Thanksgiving turkey was simple enough for the boys to make with just a bit of supervision, and interesting because it involved melting things in the microwave.

What are your tweens making for Thanksgiving? Share your turkey craft ideas.