Turkey disguise project

To help with a turkey disguise project, let your child choose and make the disguise, and keep your own part to questions, safe tools and time.

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A simple timeline

Day 1, 10 minutes. Read the note from school. Ask what the turkey could be. Write three ideas.
Day 1 or 2, 15 minutes. Pick one. Print a template and draw the disguise lightly in pencil.
Day 2, 30 minutes. Gather materials and make it. Let it dry flat overnight.
Day 3, 10 minutes. Write the sentence on the sheet. Practise saying it out loud for sharing day.

How to help without doing it for them

Ask “What will it wear on its head?” instead of saying where the hat goes.
Let them choose the colors, even if the result is surprising.
Hold the paper while they cut, or do the hot-glue step, but let them place the pieces.
If you spot a mistake, wait. A crooked hat on a child’s turkey is a feature.
Praise the idea and the effort rather than the neatness.

A letter to the teacher or the family

If your child’s class did not send a note, copy this letter into an email or print it for a group project.

Dear families,

Our class is taking on a Thanksgiving favourite: disguise a turkey. The turkey would like to stay off the dinner table, so your child will help it hide by dressing it up as something that is definitely not a turkey. A chef, an astronaut, a pile of leaves: it is up to them.

What comes home

A paper turkey, this letter and a short writing sheet. Everything else is up to you and what you have around the house.

Goes home on: ____________________
Due back at school on: ____________________
Sharing day, when each child tells the class how their turkey is hiding: ____________________

How you can help

Let your child choose the disguise and make most of it. Ask questions ("What will it wear on its head?") rather than fixing things.
A grown-up can hold the scissors steady or do the hot-glue part. The ideas and the decorating should be your child's.
Use what you already have: paper, felt, fabric scraps, cardboard, leaves. Nothing needs to be bought.
Please leave out candy and food, and go easy on glitter, so every classroom stays safe and tidy.
Keep it small enough to carry to school in a bag.

Writing part

Please help your child write one sentence on the back or on the sheet: "My turkey is disguised as ______ because ______." Spelling does not need to be perfect.

Thank you for making this fun. We are looking forward to seeing the disguises.

Warmly,

______________________________

Two free packs, free this year

Free Costume Pack

Every costume on its own coloring page, cut-and-paste pieces sheets for each costume and three writing prompt sheets, as one PDF.

A coloring page for every costume
Cut-and-paste pieces sheets with cut lines
Three writing prompt sheets, one with K-1 dotted lines
Letter or A4, your choice at download

Enter your email and the PDF downloads straight away in your browser. Letter or A4.

Questions

What is a turkey disguise project?

It is a classic Thanksgiving school activity. The turkey wants to avoid being eaten, so the child decorates a paper turkey to look like something else, such as a chef, an astronaut or a pile of leaves. Many classes add a short piece of writing about the disguise.

How much should a parent help?

Ask questions, hold the scissors steady and handle hot glue. Let the child choose the disguise and do most of the making. Teachers can usually tell, and a wobbly turkey the child made feels better than a perfect one an adult made.

How long does a turkey disguise project take?

Most take 20 to 45 minutes of making, plus time to plan and to write the sentence. Give it two or three evenings so there is no rush and the glue can dry.

What if my child does not know what to disguise the turkey as?

Ask what they are into this month, a sport, an animal, a food or a job. Then look at the idea library together and let them choose one thing to change, not copy the whole picture.

Are there pilgrim or Native American costumes?

No. All costumes are everyday jobs, animals, foods and fantasy characters we made up, so they work in any classroom. If your class wants a different idea, the blank turkey is there for anything you can imagine.