Before we adults learned how to read and write, we were introduced to the 26 letters of the English language. For most of us, our first encounter with the alphabet was singing the ABC song. But the truth is kids need to learn a lot more than to slur letter names together in song (adorable as that may be) to prepare for kindergarten and beyond.
They need to learn what letters look like—and which of the 52 uppercase and lowercase shapes actually indicate the same letter, among other things.
A powerful and fun way to teach your child upper- and lowercase letters is through play. There are a lot of educational toys on the market nowadays, but why add more plastic junk to the world (and shell out cash) when you can make your own homemade educational toys that are just as effective?
That’s why we created this free printable to encourage you to make your own fun, low-waste, and low-cost educational Thanksgiving activity. It’s a DIY turkey letter-matching game that’s easy to put together and designed to teach your child to match corresponding upper- and lowercase letters.
Our printable consists of a cute turkey page with lowercase letters and a page of turkey feathers with uppercase letters. It also comes with a black-and-white version of the printable for easier printing, so don’t stress if you’re low on ink. Have fun!
Materials:
- Printer
- Cardstock paper (2 pieces) & colored paper (1 piece)
- Envelope
- Scissors
- Glue
- Cardboard cut to the size of letter paper (optional)
- Contact paper / laminator (optional)
Step 1: Enter your email above and then check your email for the PDF! Choose our full-color turkey letter-matching game printable or our low-ink black-and-white turkey letter-matching game printable. Then print your template on two pieces of cardstock or regular paper.
Step 2: Next, carefully cut out the letter shapes from the template. (You can also cut out the turkey if you want to put it on a differently colored background, or you can just use the whole turkey page.)
Step 3: To make your game sturdier and have it last longer, you have two options. You can paste your turkey onto letter-sized cardboard (cut some from a cereal box or notebook back) or you can laminate the page in contact paper or self-laminating sheets.
Note: If you decided to use a differently colored background, glue the turkey cutout onto colored paper. Laminate or paste the whole thing onto the cardboard.
Step 5: Flip over the cardboard or laminated sheet and glue the envelope on the back.
Step 6: If you are not using the game with your child right away, slip the cut-out letters inside the envelope so that they won’t go missing. This way, they are well-contained and are ready to use in your next learning play session.
How to play
Now that you are done making your DIY turkey letter-matching game, it’s time to play! Invite your child to identify the letters of the alphabet. Then ask them to see how many upper and lowercase letters they can successfully match together. You can also practice each letter sound while matching the letters.
We hope this educational Thanksgiving activity will offer a playful and interactive learning opportunity for you and your child this fall season. Have fun!
