Thankful Turkey Jar
Submitted by Liamsmom on Nov 05, 2017
This Thanksgiving project was designed for my 8-year-old son, who is deafblind and a braille user to do alongside his younger brother Finn and my boyfriend's daughter. This project uses a jar that we decorated to look like a pretend turkey. Inside the jar we wrote things in braille and print that we are thankful for and attached the words onto popsicle sticks.
I looked for ideas on Pinterest and used this site for inspiration: https://rhythmsofplay.com/turkey-leaf-lanterns/
Objectives:
- To explore a variety of tactile materials
- To generate a list of things one is thankful for and write them as independently as possible (on braillerwriter, with pencil, drawing, tactile symbols, etc.)
Materials:
- Glass mason jar
- Leaves
- Mod Podge
- Fun textured ribbon
- Sponge paint brushes
- Tissue paper
- Googly eyes
- Orange and brown construction paper (pre-cut into the shape of beaks and the turkey body)
- Popsicle sticks
- Braille label paper and brailler
- Sharpie marker
- Organizer tray to organize the materials for the child
Procedure:
- Create a sample model for the students to explore ahead of time. Introduce each of the materials, explaining what they'll be used for and allowing children to ask questions.
- Together use Mod Podge to apply the tissue paper onto the jar using the foam brushes.
- With help, add the leaf onto the front of the jar using Modge Podge and the foam brush.
- Put the jar aside and allow it to dry.
- Begin to write things that you are thankful for onto the braille label paper.
- Cut out the labels and place them on the sticks together.
- Go back to the jar (hopefully a little dry now) and add the body of the turkey, googly eyes and the beak.
- Add textured ribbon onto the top of the jar.
- Place the sticks into the "Turkey Jar".
