Button Turkey

What do you get when you take a handprint turkey and add some buttons? This cutie:

I knew the buttons I bought for my fall tree would come in handy. I had to pick through them to find the small ones so they'd fit in the fingers of my daughter's handprint. First I traced it with a pencil then went over it with markers. I also added a beak and feet.

Then my daughter helped me squeeze glue on the fingers. We worked on one finger at a time, matching the colors.

For the body, we again covered it in glue first.

I found a dark brown square button, so she put that in the middle to look like a wing. Then she filled in the rest.

I added a wiggle eye and that was it!

Great fine motor practice and color-matching activity!

For more Thanksgiving fun, check out these free printables you can use to dress up your dining table at FoodPackagingLabels.net!

Nature Faces

Before I get to the art project today, I wanted to update you on my job situation. If you were reading this blog back in May, you know I left the center I was teaching at and stayed home with my daughter for the summer. At the end of the summer, as I applied for new positions, I realized I didn't want to teach in a center anymore. So I became a nanny for a wonderful family instead. They have a 3-year-old daughter and an 18-month-old son. My daughter is 2-and-a-half so she fits in nicely. Although I love teaching and often miss being in a classroom, I am very happy with my decision. And I still get to do a lot of what I did in the classroom anyway. (But no more class displays -- boo hoo.)

Now on to the art...

I noticed the red leaves from a burning bush looked like lips, so I thought it would be fun to make faces out of things from nature. Most of the leaves have already fallen off the trees where I live, but there are a few still hanging on. We took a walk to collect some items that we thought would be good for our project. Then we got to work gluing the items on to resemble a face.

I put markers out to add in other details, but it's not necessary. Here's one I made before I drew anything in:

And then after:

It just adds a little something. We had a lot of fun!

And the little one just made a collage.

This art won't last forever, but it's a wonderful activity to do on a beautiful autumn day!