# Glove Turkeys > Pump air into a vinyl glove with a balloon pump, tie it off like a balloon, and paint it into a turkey with colorful finger feathers. Add a paper beak and googly eyes, then play or display. It is a quick, fun craft rather than a keepsake, because the glove deflates within a day or two. - URL: https://www.funlittles.com/thanksgiving-craft-with-gloves/ - Ages: 2–6 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: medium - Time: prep 10 min, activity 30 min - Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class · one batch serves about 1 kids - Skills: fine-motor, science, states-of-matter, color-recognition, letter-recognition, creativity, pretend-play ## Materials (one batch) - 1 piece Plastic powder-free vinyl gloves - 1 piece Balloon pump - 1 piece Rubber band or string (household) - Acrylic paint (brown/bronze for the body, plus feather colors) - Thin paint brushes - 2 piece Peel and stick wiggle eyes - Yellow construction paper - 1 piece Hot glue gun (household) - Stick-on foam letters (optional) - 1 piece Craft sticks (optional) - Craft feathers (optional) - Play dough (optional) ## Substitutions - Instead of hot glue gun: School glue (The author says it should work if you want to stay away from the glue gun.) - Instead of play dough: Air-drying clay (The author says it should work perfectly for standing the turkeys up.) ## Safety - Treat the inflated glove like a balloon. If it pops or deflates, pick up the pieces right away. Broken or deflated plastic is a choking and suffocation hazard for young children. - Use the balloon pump rather than mouths to inflate the gloves. - Only an adult uses the hot glue gun. Use school glue if kids are helping with gluing. - Googly eyes and foam letters are small parts, so supervise toddlers closely. - Acrylic paint can stain clothes and is not for mouths. Cover clothes and tables, and wash hands after painting. ## Before you start - Plan to make the turkeys close to the day you need them, such as the day before Thanksgiving. They deflate within a day or two. ## Steps 1. Take turns pumping air into a vinyl glove with the balloon pump until it has a good, plump shape. 2. Adult: tie off the cuff tightly with a rubber band or string, like a balloon. Check that it's really secure. 3. While you pump, talk about air. What's inside the glove now? 4. Paint the palm of the glove brown or bronze for the turkey's body. 5. Paint each finger a different feather color with a thin brush, or paint the whole turkey any colors you like. 6. Peel and stick foam letters onto your turkey if you like. 7. Let the turkeys dry for a while. 8. Adult: fold yellow construction paper into a small cone for a beak. Glue the beak and googly eyes onto the turkey's head. 9. Glue on a craft stick to make a turkey puppet, then play! 10. To display, stand each turkey up in a lump of play dough or air-drying clay. ## Tips - Be very meticulous when you tie off the glove, because you don't want to wake up to a flat glove turkey. The kids do get upset to see their creations flat. - Give the kids thin brushes to keep colors from mixing on each finger (feather). - You could also make it completely open-ended. My toddler picked out her own colors and had a blast painting all over the turkey. - Pumping is a good opportunity to talk about air. I shared some quick facts about air and the other 2 states of matter. - The kids were thrilled with the name 'glove turkeys' and with the way we used the air pump. - I first stood ours in glitter tubes on the mantle. Well, it looked freaky, so I took them down and stood them up with play dough. - This isn't something you can save forever, because the glove deflates within a day or two. Treat it as something fun to do, possibly the day before Thanksgiving. - With craft sticks glued on, the kids ran around with their turkeys and it turned into a pretend play session. ## The original post by TurkeyMom (2012) Thanks to husband for inspiring today’s Thanksgiving craft. After actually attempting to create with the kids, I personally saw the way the kids enjoyed painting on the gloves. They really got a kick out of the term “Glove turkey”. Materials - **[Plastic Powder-Free Vinyl Gloves](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01F2KBSF8/?tag=blmemo-20)** - **[Balloon Pump](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006IBAK5U/?tag=blmemo-20)** - **[Acrylic Paint](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ATJSD8I/?tag=blmemo-20)** - **[Peel and Stick Wiggle Eyes](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000F8V66O/?tag=blmemo-20)** - **Y [Construction Paper](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0013CDJTS/?tag=blmemo-20)** - **[Paint Brushes](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000KIA084/?tag=blmemo-20)** The first step was the most fun for the kids. Use the balloon pump ! We took turns pumping air into the glove to get it into a good shape we were satisfied with. Fasten with a rubber band or string just like you would secure a balloon. Be very meticulous with the securing process because you don’t want to wake up to a flat glove turkey. The kids do get upset to see their creations flat because mom did not fasten them with care. Anyway, it was good opportunity to talk about air. I engaged big A with some quick facts about air and the other 2 states of matter. Once we “blew” up some turkeys it was time to paint them. This Thanksgiving craft is both a toddler's and a pre schooler's haven becauses it uses two kids favorites: Balloon pump ( although not balloons themselves) and paint. Big A, true to form painted the turkey to T. She chose her colors as she now knows the shades we use on a turkey. It is better to give the kids thin brushes to prevent colors mixing on each finger (feather). However, you could let the activity to be completely open ended and have the kids paint the turkeys with their choice of colors. That’s what happened with my toddler. She picked out her own colors and had a blast painting all over the turkey. Pre schooler’s glove turkey creation. I love to see that her strokes are getting more uniform these days, completely eliminating the need to demonstrate uniform strokes. The one of the left is Big A's Toddler’s glove turkey creations. With some stick-on foam letters, she was very happy to peel and stick the letters on the turkey. Fine motor skills development, letter recognition and creativity enhancement- all in one activity. We let the turkeys dry for a while and I came back to glue on eyes and beaks. I made beaks out of yellow construction paper folded into a cone and hot glued both the beaks and googly eyes to the turkeys. School glue should work if you want to stay away from the glue gun. A glued on craft stick will turn this Thanksgiving craft into a homemade puppet. The kids ran around with their turkey creations and it turned into a pretend play session. For display, I inserted the turkey craft into our glitter tubes and set them out on our mantle. Well, it looked freaky so I took them down and stood them up with play dough. If you have air-drying clay that should work perfect. NOTE: The turkey craft is clearly not something you can save for ever since the glove turkey does deflate within a day or two. Please treat this activity as something fun to do with the kids. You could possibly do this the day before Thanksgiving. **Related Links:** We have done quite a few turkey activities for the season ### Thanks for reading More [**Thanksgiving Crafts and Turkey crafts for kids**](https://www.funlittles.com/category/holidays/thanksgiving-holidays/) here. Pin this so YOU don't forget!!