Treat Kids, Family to a Fun, Active Thanksgiving

By Karen Lee
Courtesy of the National Wild Turkey Federation

In recent years, Thanksgiving is almost as much about the couch potato as it is the turkey. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans spend an average of 1.2 hours eating and drinking on Thanksgiving Day and 3.7 hours in front of the TV.

What’s even more disheartening is that less than 45 percent of people spend an average of 2.5 hours socializing with their loved ones on a day set aside to remember our blessings.

This holiday, the National Wild Turkey Federation challenges America to build in some quality family time away from the TV. And that includes the kids.

“The NWTF has long been a champion of getting young people active and outside through its JAKES/Xtreme JAKES program and magazine,” said NWTF Education Director Christine Rolka. “Through our fun, educational events held nation wide, we’ve brought the outdoors lifestyle and wildlife conservation to thousands of kids ages 5 to 17.”

So recruit the teens in your clan to lead the younger ones in some of these fun, interactive Thanksgiving and wild turkey-themed activities.

Plus, Grandma might appreciate an empty kitchen, without taste-testers and constant cries of “When’s dinner gonna be ready?”


ART FROM NATURE

Pinecone Toms
Make a tiny pinecone tom for every place setting for a
holiday keepsake everyone can take home.
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Photo Courtesy of the National Wild Turkey Federation

Tiny Pinecone Toms

No danger in anyone biting into these prickly turkeys. You’ll need:

Let the fun begin:

  1. For each turkey, cut out a yellow beak and a red snood from felt.
  2. Glue the beak, snood and a pair of googly eyes onto a pom-pom to make the turkey’s head.
  3. Glue the pom-pom head to the tip of the pinecone. Allow the glue to dry.
  4. Wrap a pipe cleaner around the middle of the turkey’s pinecone body, starting from the top and twisting it together a few times on the underside. Separate the ends of the pipe cleaner (below the twists) and bend each tip into a three-toed foot.
  5. For the turkey’s tail, individually wrap 3 or 4 pipe cleaners around the back of the pinecone, starting from the underside and twisting them together a few times on the top of the pinecone to secure them. Then loop both ends of each pipe cleaner to shape the tail feathers.

Make a flock to decorate the dinner table—or for a homemade favor for each kid to take home.

Setting Stones

Create fun turkey table decorations using rocks, a few craft supplies and your imagination. Take a short hike to a stream, riverbank or beach and pick up smooth rocks about the size of a child’s hand. Make sure the rocks are dry and paint them fun colors; they will be the body of the wild turkey. Use craft feathers to make the tail, and googly eyes, felt and ribbon to give each turkey a unique personality.

Fall Leaf Turkey

You’ll need:

Let the fun begin:


FOR THE BUDDING TURKEY CALLER

Drinking Straw Turkey Call
Spark future turkey callers and budding call makers with this easy activity using a straw.
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Photo Courtesy of the National Wild Turkey Federation

Drinking Straw Turkey Call

According to JAKES Program Manager Mandy Harling, this activity is a favorite among kids and school groups who visit the Wild Turkey Center in Edgefield, S.C.

You’ll need (for each call):

Let the fun begin:

  1. On one end of the yarn, tie a big, chubby knot. Slide two beads onto the yarn, then tie a chubby knot at the other end. The knots should be big enough so the beads cannot slide off the yarn.
  2. Split the beads apart; pinch the middle of the yarn and hold it up. The yarn will be folded in half, with one bead on each end.
  3. Slide two beads on the top of the yarn—both sides of yarn go into the bead. Slide the two top beads down to the other beads.
  4. Slide the top bead up a few inches, creating a gap between two pieces of the yarn. Place the straw between the two pieces of yarn and slide the top bead back down to pinch the straw in place. Tie a knot on top of the very top bead to hold the straw in place.
  5. Slide the shaft of a feather through the top two beads to decorate and help hold the straw in place.
  6. Start calling! Place one end of the straw on the inner edge of your lips, halfway between the front of your lips and the corner of your mouth. Cup your hands over the end of the call to create a kind of echo chamber for the sound. Lightly pinch the straw between your lips and suck on the straw in little, short breaths.

Tip: Practice by comparing your sounds to recordings of real wild turkeys on the National Wild Turkey Federation’s Web site at www.nwtf.org/calling_tips.


Jake withMagazine
About JAKES/Xtreme JAKES

The NWTF's JAKES (Juniors Acquiring Knowledge, Ethics and Sportsmanship) program was developed in 1981 and is dedicated to teaching the principles of wildlife management and passing along the traditions of safe, ethical and responsible hunting. The program is designed for children up to age 12.

The Xtreme JAKES program came along in 2002 for teens between 13 and 17 and provides advanced outdoor opportunities and challenges more in line with older JAKES abilities and experiences.

In 2007, local chapters conducted almost 900 JAKES/Xtreme JAKES events featuring hands-on activities throughout North America.

Each JAKES/Xtreme JAKES member is eligible for a drawing to win a hunt of a lifetime on the legendary King Ranch in Kingsville, Texas.

JAKES and Xtreme JAKES members across North America receive JAKES/Xtreme JAKES magazines, which has expanded to include 16 additional pages focused on activities teens enjoy. The magazines will also continue to feature fun and educational articles focused on items of interest to younger readers. For more information about the JAKES/Xtreme JAKES program or to find an event near you, visit www.nwtf.org/jakes.
What’s the difference?

Many times the red fleshy part around a turkey’s beak is called a wattle. Actually it’s two different parts of a tom turkey. The snood, which drapes over and hangs beside the beak, has no known biological function. The major caruncles hang over the turkey’s neck (below the beak) and fill with blood during the spring—a sign of a gobbler looking for love!

Gobbler Identifiers
No wattle here. Check out the actual parts on a wild
turkey's head.
Click to Download
Courtesy of the National Wild Turkey Federation

FUN IN THE YARD

Need to burn off some extra calories after the meal? Or, do the young ones need to expend a little extra energy. Head outside and try this fun version of hide and seek. Play it in the garage or even indoors, if weather doesn’t cooperate.

Turkey Hunt

On a dozen or so index cards, draw or paste a picture of a turkey. To play, everyone leaves the yard (or room) except the leader. The leader hides the cards.

When the kids return, the hunt begins. As each turkey is found, it is brought back to the leader who corrals them in a separate pile for each hunter. When all the turkeys have been found, the hunter with the most turkeys is the winner and becomes the leader for the next round.

Tip: Old copies of the National Wild Turkey Federation’s Turkey Call magazine or www.nwtf.org are great places to find turkey pictures!


ART FOR NATURE

Harvest Necklace

Celebrate the Thanksgiving harvest the old fashioned way using popcorn and seasonal dried fruit. It’s a feast for kids and wildlife alike.

You’ll need:

Let the fun begin:

  1. Measure the line long enough to fit over each child’s head (leaving enough room to tie it off).
  2. Adults may need to help kids thread the needle.
  3. String the popcorn and fruit in a festive pattern.

Kids can wear these fun, fragrant necklaces for the day, then hang them on a tree or shrub for wildlife to enjoy.

Tip: Put a dab of all-natural peanut butter on the necklace before placing it outside. The oils and protein are great for the birds!


HANDS-ON FUN

Fingerprint Flock of Wild Turkey Place Cards

You’ll need:

Let the fun begin:

  1. Press a thumb into the inkpad and then on paper to print a wild turkey’s body, head and tail feathers.
  2. Use markers to add a beak, wattle and feet.
  3. Complete the cards by writing guests’ names on them.

 

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