I love when stories have surprise endings! Especially when it comes to holiday stories where you think you know how the traditional tale will go. But then the author provides a clever twist.
A Turkey For Thanksgiving, by Eve Bunting
The picture book A Turkey for Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting provides this delightful surprise ending reading experience. Just like everyone else, the Moose family wants to celebrate Thanksgiving with all the proper trimmings, which of course must include a real turkey.
So Mr. Moose sets off to find Mrs. Moose a real turkey. He’s joined by all his woodland friends. The story continues in hilarious fashion as the group hunt for a turkey. Eve Bunting fills the pages with delightful word play. And the illustrations by Diane de Groat assist in keeping the reader in suspense as well.
Did they ever find their Thanksgiving turkey? They sure did – but I won’t spoil HOW it happens. You’ll just have to read the book yourself! It’s definitely a must-read for Thanksgiving time.
Fun Extension Activities For A Turkey For Thanksgiving
I’ve always loved having Thanksgiving activities for my boys during November. We’ve done the handprint turkey, and the Gratitude Tree (get a free leaf printable here!) and various Thanksgiving-themed activities and craft kits.
So this year, add in a fresh extension to your Thanksgiving reading by completing a few chalk pastel video art lessons to go along with the clever tale of A Turkey for Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving Turkey Art Lesson
First the boys painted a fanciful Thanksgiving turkey on orange construction paper, which my youngest said he loved because it was very colorful and made him think about Thanksgiving.
This larger-than-life turkey art lesson is accessible even for the youngest artists, because it is a simple painting focused on large shape elements like curves and circles. Kids will learn to “scumble” as a method of filling in large areas of their painting. They’ll find room for creativity when it comes to adding color to the turkey tail feathers.
Turkey Nature Walk Lesson
Next, we followed the Turkey Nature Walk lesson from Nana to draw a few wild turkeys out in a field. This lesson could be more challenging for younger artists because the turkeys are a little smaller with more detail. My ten-year-old enjoyed this challenge and said he liked drawing a more realistic turkey. My oldest said he thought turkeys were fun to draw because they have lots of details he could fill in. The boys later embellished their paintings with some hunters after Nana’s lesson!
You might also like these Turkey Homeschool Nature Study Activities for November at our sister site, Homeschool Nature Study.
Each of these lessons can be an exciting way to illustrate the A Turkey for Thanksgiving book. Or, you could use them as starting points for a study on Thanksgiving traditions, such as why we have turkey at Thanksgiving. Perhaps even a mini unit study on turkey habitats and characteristics would be fitting.
Careful though, my oldest said all these Thanksgiving art lessons got him started thinking about delicious Thanksgiving foods, and made him hungry!
Looking For More Thanksgiving Activities?
Don’t stop with the traditional turkey art lesson! Nana’s lessons offer children so many glimpses into what makes Thanksgiving meaningful, unique, and fun as an American holiday. There are many ways to bring art and Thanksgiving celebrations together!
Celebrate friendships and family gatherings by reading and painting Mr. Whiskers from Cranberry Thanksgiving. Here’s a whole blog post of ideas to go along with the Cranberry Thanksgiving book!
Map the First Thanksgiving Voyage to begin a discussion on why we even celebrate Thanksgiving in the first place. Explore how you can Draw Your Way Through the Thanksgiving story with tall sailing ships, mapping the voyage, pilgrims, native Americans and more! Members also enjoy an I Drew It Then I Knew It Thanksgiving Guide with fun facts, books lists, history topics and more.
But how did Thanksgiving because a regular and national holiday? Complete the Abraham Lincoln Thanksgiving Proclamation to add historical context to this year’s celebration. Find Abraham Lincoln and more in Nana’s Presidents series of lessons which includes an I Drew It Then I Knew It Companion Guide as well.
A season of thankfulness and gratitude would not be complete without sharing thanks to God for all of our blessings. One of our favorite ways to celebrate during this time of Thanksgiving is with hymn studies. Many songs help us to remember our gifts and sing our gratitude to God. Here are Thanksgiving hymn favorites for you to enjoy, along with Thanksgiving Homeschool Activities You’ll Be Grateful For!
Draw on (pun intended!) famous artists like Norman Rockwell’s Thanksgiving to depict a classic look at Thanksgiving dinners of years past.
Check out the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Homeschool Art Activities to add in a pop cultural Thanksgiving reference.
And of course, nothing is more anticipated than the huge Thanksgiving Day Parade inflatable turkey in New York City! In preparation for this classic holiday moment, have your kids do this colorful art lesson during Thanksgiving week.
Turkeys, turkeys, turkeys! Who knew these gangly and somewhat awkward looking birds would steal the show at Thanksgiving, right?
All of these exciting Turkey lessons are available in the Thanksgiving Clubhouse series available with the You ARE an Artist Clubhouse Membership. What our family loves best about the Clubhouse membership is having a range of art lessons we can enjoy for various holidays and themes throughout the year. It’s certainly going to be a very colorful Thanksgiving filled with turkeys, food, and art in our house!
