Turkey Time

Thanksgiving is a time to share a special holiday with family and 
friends.  In the following article, I give some ideas for taking the 
focus off the food and turning it toward forming friendships, family 
bonds, and fun!

Turkey Tag

In this game, three students play the hunters and the rest are wild 
turkeys. The game continues until all the turkeys are caught.

Take a Nature Walk

Go outside!  Take a nature walk and see if you can find: a red, 
orange, or brown leaf; a pine cone; an acorn; a dried weed or pod; a 
seed; a piece of bark; a sweet gum ball, or dried berries.  For a 
variation, have the group brainstorm and see what items that they 
can find first.  The first group to find everything on the list wins!

Popcorn Relay Race

Materials:  Popcorn or small balls
Measuring Cups
Bowls or containers

Set out bowls full of popcorn at one end of the room and empty bowls 
at another. Teams must transport the popcorn from full bowl to empty 
bowl using a measuring cup.

Pin the Tail Feathers on the Turkey

Materials: Picture of Turkey
Feathers or Tail feather
Tape
Blindfold

Draw a turkey and have the blindfolded children take turns trying to 
attach the feathers.  The player that puts the feathers closest to 
the turkey wins!

Thankerchief

Materials: Handkerchief

Arrange the children in a circle. Pass a "thankerchief" 
(handkerchief) around as they recite this poem:  

Thankerchief, thankerchief, around you go -- 
Where you'll stop, nobody knows.
But when you do, someone must say, 
What they are thankful for this day.

The player holding the thankerchief when the poem ends, must tell 
one thing for which they are thankful. The game continues until 
everyone has had a turn.

Turkey Hunt!

Materials:  Twelve Turkey Pictures
 
On a dozen or so index cards, draw or paste a picture of a turkey. 
To play, everyone leaves the room except the leader. The leader 
hides the cards around the room. Hunters return and begin the hunt. 
As each turkey is found, it is brought back to the leader who 
corrals them in a separate pile for each hunter. When all the 
turkeys have 
been found, the hunter with the most turkeys is the winner and 
becomes the leader for the next round. 

Where is Mr. Turkey?

Materials:  Small turkey or brown ball to represent turkey

One player is the hunter and the others are helpers. The hunter 
leaves the room. The helpers hide a small toy turkey. The hunter 
returns with a mission to find the turkey. Helpers give clues 
by "gobbling" like turkeys. If the hunter is not close, the helpers 
gobble very quietly. As the hunter gets closer, the helpers gobble 
more and more loudly until the hunter finds Mr. Turkey. 

Cranberry Relay:

Materials: Cranberries or small red balls
Large plastic spoons

Have players form two lines. Each player takes turns carrying a 
spoonful of cranberries from the front of the line to a determined 
point and then back to hand the spoon to the next player in line. If 
any of the cranberries drop off, the player must stop and replace 
them before continuing. The first team to finish wins.
	
Turkey Trot

Materials: Stuffed turkey or picture of turkey for each team

Players pair up with their elbows linked and each team receives a 
turkey mascot.  On cue, the pairs try to make their way to the 
finish line at the far end of the playing field. The first team to 
get there without dropping their bird or unlinking their arms, wins.


Turkey Exercises

Materials:  Turkey picture for each group
Turkey feathers with exercises on them

Make feathers out of laminated red, brown, yellow, and green 
construction paper and on the back of each, write an exercise. 
Divide the students into small groups of three and assign each group 
a turkey placed at the opposite end of the gym. Give students the 
exercise feathers in a pail or bag. The first student in the group 
will pick a feather, read the exercise, and the group will perform 
the exercise. That first student will then run to the turkey with 
that feather, place it on the turkey, and run back. Then the next 
student in the group selects a feather, reads the exercise, and the 
group performs the exercise. That student runs to the turkey, places 
the feather on the turkey and runs back. Continue until all the 
feathers are placed on the turkey. The teacher can tell the students 
how many feathers they need to have on the turkey, depending on the 
time available. Students can also be told they need to select at 
least one feather of each color, to include variety of exercises.

Run Fast Little Turkey

Materials: Parachutes
Paper Feathers

Take a chute and throw the turkey feathers in the air.  Assign a 
color to each child and have them pick up that color of feathers.  
The child who picks up his/her color first, wins.

Cornucopia Pilgrims

Materials: Chairs for all students except one

Players sit on chairs forming a circle. There should be one more 
player than there are chairs. The player without a chair is the 
leader. The leader points to each of the other players to give them 
a name, such as "Cranberry, Corn, Apple, Turkey," anything related 
to Thanksgiving. After names are chosen, the leader calls out two 
names, "Turkey and potato," for example. Those two players must 
quickly switch places. The leader keeps calling at a quick pace, 
until suddenly she says, "The cornucopia has tipped over!" Everyone, 
including the leader, then scrambles for a new place. The player 
with out a seat is the new leader. 

Pumpkin Race

Materials: Pumpkins or similar odd shaped balls
Pool Noodles 

The racers line up on the starting line with the pumpkins turned on 
their sides. On the signal, the racers use the noodle to roll the 
pumpkins to the finish line. If you want to play this as teams, make 
it a relay race. 

If you are looking for an alternative to the traditional dash for 
the leftovers, try these exciting games.  Your focus will be on fun 
instead of on a full and bloated belly.

Thanksgiving References
(Included in this section are books that are great to read in 
between the games when children are tired.) 

Amazing Moms Thanksgiving Games
http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/thanksgiving_games.htm

Annie’s Thanksgiving Games
http://www.annieshomepage.com/thanksgivinggames.html

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Thank you Sarah: the Woman who Saved 
Thanksgiving. New York: Scholastic, 2002.

Black dog’s Thanksgiving
http://www.blackdog.net/holiday/thanks/

DePaola, Tommie. My First Thanksgiving. New York: Scholastic, n.d.

Family Fun Turkey Trot
http://familyfun.go.com/parties/holiday/game/famf_game_turkeytrot/

Let’s Talk Turkey
http://www.umkc.edu/imc/turkeys.htm

Pilkey, Dav. T’was the Night Before Thanksgiving. New York: 
Scholastic News, 1990.

Ross, Katherine. The Story of the Pilgrims. New York: Random House, 
1995.

Teaching With a Heart Thanksgiving, Geocities Turkey Time
http://www.geocities.com/teachingwithheart/turkeysing.html

Tryon, Leslie. Albert’s Thanksgiving. New York: Scholastic, 1994.

Web Teach Thanksgiving Links
http://webtech.kennesaw.edu/jcheek3/thanksgiving.htm

Wilmes, Liz, and Dick. Parachute Play. Elgin, IL: Building Blocks, 
2000.