# Number Turkey Pumpkin Craft > Paint a mini pumpkin as the turkey's body, then write numbers on paper feathers and wings and attach them with toothpicks. It works as a craft, writing and math activity, and a Thanksgiving centerpiece. - URL: https://www.funlittles.com/math-based-turkey-craft/ - Ages: 3–6 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: medium - Time: prep 25 min, activity 45 min - Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class · one batch serves about 1 kids - Skills: number-writing, counting, fine-motor, pre-writing, art ## Materials (one batch) - 1 piece Mini pumpkin - Acrylic paint - 1 piece Paintbrushes - Construction paper in several colors - Turkey template (feathers, wings, head) - Glue - 3 piece Toothpicks (household) - Markers - 1 piece Stapler (household) - 1 piece Scissors (household) ## Substitutions - Instead of acrylic paint: Brown acrylic paint only (The author says you could just use brown for the turkey's body.) - Instead of turkey printable: Hand-cut feather, wing and head shapes (The original printable link is gone. The photos show the shapes: long pointed feathers, notched wings and a head with a beak and wattle.) ## Safety - Toothpicks are sharp. An adult helps push them into the pumpkin, as the author did. - Adult handles the scissors and stapler. - Acrylic paint may not wash out of clothes. Cover the table and dress kids in old clothes or smocks. - Toothpicks and staples are small parts. Supervise younger children. ## Before you start - Cut out turkey feathers, wings and a head from construction paper for each child. - Plan two sessions: the painted pumpkin needs to dry overnight before you assemble the turkey. ## Steps 1. Cover the table, then paint the mini pumpkin in turkey feather colors (or just brown) with acrylic paint. 2. Let the painted pumpkin dry, then come back to the project the next day. 3. Trace or write numbers on the feathers (1 to 5) and wings (6 and 7) with markers. 4. Adult: staple the feathers together into a fan and stick a toothpick on the back. 5. Glue a toothpick to each wing and set the feathers and wings out to dry for a while. 6. Color the turkey's eyes and wattle, then glue the head to the front of the pumpkin. 7. Push the feather and wing toothpicks into the pumpkin, with an adult helping. 8. Set your number turkey out for display. ## Tips - Use acrylic paint. Any water-based paint flakes off the pumpkin after it dries, but acrylic sticks on without any trouble. - Using markers on colored paper that doubles as turkey feathers and wings suddenly makes writing very exciting. - Attaching the feathers and wings isn't hard because you're working with a mini pumpkin. - Know your child's attention span and tailor the project to it. - Fair warning: from some angles the painted pumpkin looks like a red bell pepper. Daddy asked if we were making one! - It's a great way to use leftover pumpkins for Thanksgiving. (from readers) ## FAQ **Why did the paint peel off my class's pumpkins?** Any water-based paint flakes off after it dries. Acrylic paint sticks on without any trouble. **Can I use this for more than numbers?** Yes. The author says it can go in many directions, such as letters, sight words and word families. ## The original post by TurkeyMom (2012) This Thanksgiving craft can double as a turkey craft and a pr school writing and math activity. - Mini pumpkin - Acrylic Paint - Construction paper - Glue - Tooth picks - Markers - Turkey printable. We started off with painting the pumpkin (body of the turkey) in various turkey feather colors. You could use just use brown for the body of the turkey.I set out some acrylics with a metallic finish. Once we were done, daddy promptly asked if we were making a red bell pepper! My heart sank :l Of course I came back with “Since when do bell peppers have 5 different colors?" To be fair, the pumpkin does look like a bell pepper from this angle. We let the red bell pepper a.k.a pumpkin to dry and came back to the project the next day. FOR THE TURKEY For the turkey, I cut out some turkey feathers, body and wings using this printable. It was a good time to encourage my older one to try writing a few numbers. It didn't need a lot of push because she is going through a “ I want to write letters and numbers all day” phase. Really, it is borderline weird Having said that, I'm sure this play based/ craft based learning will encourage any kid to write. An opportunity to use markers on colored pieces of paper doubling as turkey feathers and wings suddenly makes writing very exciting. I set out the feathers where she traced a few and wrote a few numbers. While I went inside to get some more toothpicks, she got zealous and wrote some freaky inverted numbers on my workspace. Hurray to budding interest in writing. We stapled the feathers together and stuck a toothpick on the back. Next, the wings went on the toothpicks and were set out to dry along with the feathers for a while. After she colored the turkey eyes and wattle we glued the head to the pumpkin body. Attaching the feathers and wings should not be that hard because we are working with a mini pumpkin. I helped Big A push the toothpick into the pumpkin. Once the feathers, wings and the head is attached, your number turkey is ready for display. Thoughts It could work as a center piece for your kids table on Thanksgiving day. It could possibly work as a handmade Thanksgiving gift for teachers/class etc. This Thanksgiving craft is just a basic model. You could clearly do more – more feathers, attach individual feathers to the pumpkin. Work with letters, sight words, word families. Knowing your child’s attention span will help you tailor the project for your kid. Thanks for reading Happy Sharing Please take a moment to comment Hello Visitor, Thanks for stopping by our little space here. 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