Fall is a wonderful time to explore creativity, celebrate the season, and enjoy hands-on activities with children. For children with autism, sensory-friendly crafts can provide meaningful opportunities to explore different textures, practice important developmental skills, and express themselves through art. One fun and simple activity to try this fall is making Textured Paper Plate Turkeys!
This festive Thanksgiving craft uses everyday materials like paper plates, construction paper, feathers, cotton balls, and tissue paper to create colorful turkey decorations. With a variety of textures to explore, children can customize their turkeys based on their interests and sensory preferences while enjoying a fun, hands-on experience.
What You’ll Need
One of the best things about this Thanksgiving craft is that it uses affordable materials that are easy to find at home, school, or your local craft store.
Gather the following supplies:
Paper plates
Brown, red, orange, and yellow construction paper
Colorful craft feathers
Cotton balls
Tissue paper in fall colors
Googly eyes
Glue sticks or child-safe liquid glue
Scissors
Markers or crayons
Consider offering a variety of materials so children can choose which textures, colors, and decorations they enjoy most. For children who prefer less tactile input, glue sticks, pre-cut materials, and alternative decorations can make the activity more comfortable.
How to Make Textured Paper Plate Turkeys
Creating these adorable turkeys is easy, and children can personalize their designs along the way!
Step 1: Prepare the Turkey’s Body
Start with a paper plate to create the turkey’s body. Children can color the plate brown using crayons, markers, or paint. Alternatively, leave the plate white or cover it with brown construction paper.
Step 2: Create Colorful Feathers
Cut feather shapes from red, orange, and yellow construction paper. You can also use real craft feathers, tissue paper, or cotton balls to introduce different textures. Encourage children to arrange their feathers around the back of the paper plate to create a colorful tail.
Step 3: Add Texture and Decorations
This is where the sensory fun begins! Let children decorate their turkey feathers with cotton balls, tissue paper, and craft feathers. They can glue, layer, crinkle, or arrange the materials however they choose. Encourage them to explore the different textures while allowing them to skip any materials they find uncomfortable.
Step 4: Give Your Turkey a Face
Use googly eyes, construction paper, or markers to create the turkey’s face. Cut out a small orange triangle for the beak and a red paper shape for the wattle. Add any finishing touches to give each turkey its own personality!
Step 5: Show Off Your Thanksgiving Creation!
Once the glue has dried, display the finished turkeys around the classroom, at home, or on a Thanksgiving bulletin board. Every turkey will be unique, reflecting each child’s creativity and individual choices.
Sensory Benefits of Textured Paper Plate Turkeys
Sensory-friendly crafts offer more than just an opportunity to create seasonal decorations. For children with autism, activities like textured paper plate turkeys can encourage exploration, skill development, and meaningful engagement in a comfortable environment.
Here are some of the benefits of incorporating this Thanksgiving craft into your fall activities:
1. Encourages Tactile Exploration
Working with feathers, cotton balls, tissue paper, and construction paper introduces children to a variety of textures. They can experience soft, fluffy, smooth, and crinkly materials while discovering which sensations they enjoy. Providing choices helps children explore at their own pace without feeling pressured to touch unfamiliar materials.
2. Strengthens Fine Motor Skills
Picking up cotton balls, placing feathers, tearing tissue paper, and gluing decorations onto the paper plate all encourage fine motor development. These small movements help children practice hand-eye coordination, grasping, and finger control, which are important skills for everyday activities.
3. Supports Color Recognition
Using traditional Thanksgiving colors like red, orange, yellow, and brown creates opportunities to identify, match, and sort different colors. Caregivers and educators can encourage children to select their favorite colors or group materials based on their similarities.
4. Promotes Creativity and Self-Expression
There is no right or wrong way to decorate a paper plate turkey! Children can choose their own materials, arrange their feathers, and create unique designs. Having the freedom to make decisions encourages independence, imagination, and confidence in their creative abilities.
5. Creates Opportunities for Communication
Craft activities provide natural opportunities for children to practice communication skills. Children can request supplies, identify colors, make choices, or ask for help when needed. Caregivers can encourage communication by asking simple questions, modeling language, and allowing children time to respond in ways that work best for them.
Incorporating Sensory Crafts Into ABA Therapy
Sensory-friendly Thanksgiving crafts can also complement learning opportunities within ABA therapy. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) focuses on understanding and developing meaningful skills through individualized, evidence-based strategies.
During an activity like making textured paper plate turkeys, ABA therapists and caregivers can incorporate opportunities to practice following directions, making choices, requesting materials, taking turns, and completing simple tasks.
For example, children might practice following a few simple steps, such as selecting a feather, applying glue, and placing the feather onto their paper plate. These activities can be adapted to match each child’s developmental level, interests, and individual goals.
Through individualized ABA services, children with autism can receive support in developing communication, social interaction, fine motor, and daily living skills. Incorporating enjoyable activities into learning environments can help make skill development engaging and meaningful.
Celebrate Thanksgiving With Creativity and Sensory Exploration!
Textured paper plate turkeys are a simple, affordable, and engaging way to celebrate Thanksgiving while encouraging sensory exploration and skill development. By offering different materials and allowing children to make their own choices, caregivers and educators can create an inclusive activity that accommodates a variety of sensory preferences and abilities.
At Cultivate Behavioral Health & Education, we understand that every child with autism has unique strengths, interests, and needs. Our approach to autism behavior support focuses on individualized care and meaningful opportunities for children to learn, grow, and develop new skills.
Whether you’re creating Thanksgiving decorations at home or planning a seasonal classroom activity, this craft is a fun way to bring creativity, learning, and a little holiday spirit together!
Explore more fall crafts at our blog like Fall-Themed Painting, Paper Bag Scarecrow Puppets, and Apple Stamps.
