Thanksgiving Turkey Counting Activities

Rosey | Posted on November 18, 2021 |

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These Thanksgiving turkey activities help kids develop counting and number recognition skills. The turkey counting activities focus on the numbers 1 and 20. These are a fun addition to Thanksgiving math centers in Pre-K, Preschool and Kindergarten!

I love the following activities for teaching kids how to read, order and count numbers up to twenty.

Thanksgiving Counting Mats (1 to 20)

Preparation – Start by printing and laminating the counting mats for added durability. Alternatively, you can put them inside a dry erase pocket sleeve (I ordered mine online from eBay). Next, you’ll need to grab some colored popsicle sticks and a fine tip marker. Carefully write the numbers 1 to 20, with one number per popsicle stick. Now you’re all set to go!

Activity 1 – Turkey Number Matching

This activity is a fun way to develop number recognition of numbers up to ten and twenty.

How to Play – First choose a number matching mat. Start by grabbing a popsicle stick and reading the number. Then find the matching number on the mat and put the popsicle stick on top. Continue matching all of the popsicle sticks until there are none left. Finally count the popsicle sticks and read the numbers to check they’re in the correct order.

Activity 2 – Turkey Number Ordering Mats

The same counting mats with the numbers and come in a blank version too. The blank versions are perfect for kids who are ready to put the numbers in order on their own.

How to Play – Choose the turkey number mat with blank popsicle sticks. Next, build a fence for the turkeys by putting the numbers in the correct order. Finally count the popsicle sticks from left to right and read the numbers to check they’re in the correct order.

Thanksgiving Turkey Counting Cards

These Thanksgiving activities include some cute turkey number cards that can be used with counting links.

Preparation – Begin by printing and laminating the number cards for added durability. After that grab a one hole punch and place a hole at the bottom of each card. Finally grab a basket and fill it with counting links. You can use paperclips as an alternative, but personally I find counting links easier for the kids to use.

How to play – First choose a card and read the number. Next count that amount of counting links and attach them to the card. Finish by counting the links again to check the amount is correct. Continue playing by choosing some of the other number cards to try.