# Run, Turkey, Run! Story Maze
> After reading the Thanksgiving picture book Run, Turkey, Run!, kids set up the four farm hiding spots from the story inside a painters'-tape floor maze. Then they act out the turkey's escape, first with toys and then by running the maze themselves.
- URL: https://www.funlittles.com/thanksgiving-books/
- Ages: 2–5 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: medium
- Time: prep 35 min, activity 30 min
- Works for: one-on-one, small group · one batch serves about 2 kids
- Skills: story-sequencing, retelling, pretend-play, small-world-play, gross-motor, early-literacy
- Cautions: food-dye, ingestion-risk

## Materials (one batch)
- 1 piece Run, Turkey, Run! by Diane Mayr, illustrated by Laura Rader
- 1 roll Painters' tape
- 2 piece Turkey and farmer figures
- 1 piece Small wooden crate (pig sty)
- Dirt or potting soil (household)
- 1 piece Small shovel or scoop
- Toy pigs
- 1 piece Glass bowl (duck pond) (household)
- Water (household)
- Food coloring
- Rubber ducks
- Toy farm fence set
- Toy horses
- 1 piece Shallow box or lid (Christmas tree forest) (household)
- Plastic Christmas trees

## Substitutions
- Instead of bowl: Sturdy clear plastic bowl (Safer around toddlers; not from the post.)
- Instead of turkey farmer figures: Any small turkey and farmer toys (The author used puzzle pieces; any small figures work for retelling.)
- Instead of food coloring: Plain water (The pond works without color; skips the dye and the staining.)

## Safety
- Supervise the water bowl at all times with toddlers. Even shallow water is a drowning risk for little ones.
- A glass bowl can break; consider a sturdy plastic bowl with young children.
- Dirt or potting soil isn't for mouthing. Watch toddlers and wash hands after play.
- Small toy animals, puzzle pieces and plastic trees can be choking hazards for children who still mouth objects.
- Clear the maze area of tripping hazards before the running-and-chasing game, and keep the chase at a safe pace.
- Food coloring in the pond water can stain hands, clothes and floors.

## Before you start
- Read Run, Turkey, Run! several times so the kids know the order of the hiding spots.
- Know your kids before picking this book: it has a hidden message about the Thanksgiving turkey that could upset some children.
- Tape a simple maze on the floor with painters' tape (we did it the day before).
- Gather the materials for the four scenes: pig sty, duck pond, horse stable and Christmas tree forest.

## Steps
1. Read Run, Turkey, Run! together and shout "RUN, TURKEY, RUN!" at the best part.
2. Show the kids the tape maze and ask them to remember the places the turkey hides, in order.
3. Build the pig sty: shovel some dirt into the crate and arrange the pigs.
4. Make the duck pond: put water and a little food coloring in the bowl and float the rubber ducks.
5. Build a stable with the fence pieces and set the horses inside.
6. Make the turkey's haven: put dirt in the box and stand the plastic Christmas trees in it.
7. Retell the story with the turkey in one hand and the farmer in the other, running through the maze and hiding at each spot.
8. Put the toys down and act it out: a child is the turkey, a grown-up is the farmer, and you chase through the maze.

## Tips
- Let the kids set up the scenes themselves. Our 4-year-old had no trouble remembering the sequence, and our 2-year-old surprisingly remembered 2 out of the 4 scenes.
- I personally saw the way story-telling skills really kick in when given a few simple toys.
- The pretend version without toys was the favorite bit. For the younger one it was just the sheer joy of running and catching.
- Both my kids request this book frequently; it's one I don't mind re-reading just to hear their loud laughter and giggles.

## The original post by TurkeyMom (2012)

### Run Turkey Run

Author : Diane Mayr Illustrator: Laura Rader This Thanksgiving book is THE best library find for this month. The book has got to be the most hilarious children’s book we have ever read.

### **Synopsis**

The book is about a turkey who tries to escape from the farm before Thanksgiving day. Turkey apparently is not thankful on Thanksgiving day for obvious reasons. He tries to hide in the pigsty pretending to be a pig, then in the duck pond pretending to be a duck, later at the stables pretending to be a horse and so on. Finally he escapes from the farmer by hiding among the Christmas trees. He is safe until Christmas time.. When Christmas rolls around he is in trouble again. The illustrator has captured the imagined essence of a turkey’s fear and anxiety on Thanksgiving day so clearly that you end up laughing so hard looking at the poor turkey’s face. Both my kids (age 4 and 2) request for this book to be read frequently. This is one book I don’t mind re-reading simply because I love to hear their loud laughter and giggles during bedtime. They especially loved the part where they get to say (read shout) RUN, TURKEY RUN! This Thanksgiving book clearly has a hidden message.. If you as parents/care takers believe that it is possible for your kids to feel upset about eating a turkey after reading the book, please refrain. Please know you kids before picking this one up. However, I highly doubt a preschooler would take the message to heart and ruin his/her scrumptious Thanksgiving dinner. Since we loved the book so much, I tried to extend the fun by creating a simple maze activity for the kids.

I created a simple maze with painters' tape on our floor.

 The following day, I invited the kids to think about the story and set up the 4 very simple scenes present in the story. Since we have read this one many times, Big A had no trouble remembering the sequence. Baby A, surprisingly remembered 2 out of the 4 scenes. I provided the kids with the materials needed for the scenes, and they set them up. We began with the pigsty where the turkey hides. Big A shoveled some dirt into the crate and arranged her pigs.

 Duck pond was set up with some water and food coloring in a glass bowl. Rubber ducks happily swam around.

 We also recently got a “make your own farm set” which we put to use today by creating a quick stable for the turkey to hide from the farmer.

 Finally, turkey’s haven – Christmas trees. Some dirt and plastic trees for turkey to hide.



Unfortunately I couldn't take pictures of Big A creating her stable and her forest. We also used a turkey and a farmer puzzle piece for our Protagonist and antagonist. Big A, enacted the entire story with a turkey in one hand and the farmer in another running through the maze and hiding at various spots. I personally saw the way story-telling skills really kick in when given a few simple toys.

 After doing the pretend version, she did her favorite bit. Without the toys, she pretended to be turkey and I had to be the farmer. We ran around the maze pretending to various characters from the story. That was so much fun for both the girls (however for the younger it was just the sheer joy of playing running and catching) There, today’s activity was this week’s major hit in our household. P.S This post is NOT a sponsored post. The kids just love the book.

Thanks for reading

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