Art: Gobble, Gobble!

Turkey Hands are one of my favorite activities. The child has to sit with a teacher, or another student (if another student is helping you make sure they are more advanced in fine motor skills). Paint the child's palm + thumb brown, and then paint each of the fingers a different color. Have the child press their hand down on the paper. Once it has dried you can have the students add eyes, a beak and feet. I like to hang my finished products on a giant butcher paper turkey.

How is this helpful to SpEd?: This activity helps students to interact with one another and adults. Everyone is working towards a common goal, so communication and relationships naturally are formed. The students have the opportunity to discover and talk about the different colors involved. This is a sensory experiment and words such as "cold, tickles, sticky, messy, etc." can be introduced.

Some students might have issues with getting their hands messy. I usually do this activity close to a sink so that they know that AS SOON as they are finished they can wash their hands. If you don't have a sink in your classroom try using a bowl with soapy water.