Turkey Time: Telling Time at Thanksgiving

What’s a better way to learn to tell time than with a turkey and some thanksgiving food? Check out these telling time turkey activities that are perfect for school or at home.

Telling time with an analog clock is becoming somewhat an archaic thing to teach. While an analog clock is about as common as a flip phone these days, there are still some good reasons why we shouldn’t stop teaching children to read one just yet. Curious? I’ll be posting about that soon.

If you have put off teaching your child or your students how to read an analog clock, now is the perfect time with these simple crafts and games!

Make a Clock

Let’s be honest. Staring at a worksheet of a bunch of black and white clocks is rather boring. It’s just a bunch of circles with numbers going around and two arrows pointing in different directions.

With this activity your students can put some meaning behind those numbers and arms while also getting a bit creative. And you can make this craft as simple as you want.

Print and Go

This clock is already numbered and colored for you. All you need to cut it and put the arms on the clock!

Print and Color

There are also THREE other versions of this clock:
1. A black and white version of the color clock. It is already numbered and has cute eyes and a waddle already drawn.
2. This clock is missing the numbers so the student has the added challenge of understanding and practicing where each number goes – and practicing his/her number writing skills! But it still has the cute eyes and waddle.
3. This clock has no numbers and now eyes or waddle so each student’s clock will be very unique!

Print and Tape

And for those that don’t have time to mess with the students making a clock or just want them to practice with the trusty Judy clock (why is it called a Judy clock anyway?), you can simply color the parts of the turkey and tape it to the clock itself. This would also be fun to decorate your classroom clock as well!

Turkey Time Matching

Matching games are about the most tried and true game you can come across. It’s an easy one to teach. Or if you’re lucky, it’s one the students already know how to play.

This game comes in THREE LEVELS.
1. time to the hour
2. time to the half-hour
3. both time to the hour and half-hour

And what’s also great with matching games is that it can be both an independent game or a partner game. And the cards have the students’ matching a cute turkey with a delicious thanksgiving dish.

Turkey Time Matching WITH A TWIST

There is no need for students to be sitting at their desks for an entire math lesson, is there? This class action game will have students racing back and forth to be the first team to give their turkey all his feathers!

And don’t feel like you need a class full of students. My son has played this game twice today racing against him self and a clock!

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Turkey Time Connect Four

This game is a bit more challenging and is great for students who are doing well with the concept already. This game adds a bit of strategic thinking. Not only does the student have to read an analog clock and match it to the digital time but they must also not let the other player get four thanksgiving dishes in a row!

Turkey Time Card Game

Another tried and true card game; although one I have found not as many children know. Maybe I just know it so well because my grandfather used to love to play it with me.

It’s a spin on Old Maid. It’s Old Turkey! Students are still matching analog clocks and digital clocks but with the twist of not becoming the Old Turkey!

Turkey Time Board Game

Board games! There’s just something about a board game that takes a mundane topic and can make it so fun.

This game also comes in varying levels so every student in your class can play on their level.

This game reinforces how to make the time on an analog clock. Students will need their own clocks to play this game. It can be a Judy clock or one that they have made. They can make a free turkey clock here!

Turkeys and Thankfulness

Last year our family made a Thankful Turkey. We’ve been out of town for a few days but hopefully I’ll have everything prepared so that we can make our 2019 Thankful Turkey. Maybe just maybe we’ll have a lot of thankful turkeys to look back on in the years to come.

The Gypsy Teacher has some great ideas for teaching and practicing gratitude. I really liked her idea of the thankful tree and started to do it this year–I have the perfect place by my front door–but decided to keep with the Thankful Turkey tradition.

And if you’re looking for some more learning activities with turkeys check out these fun activities on Pinterest.

If you, your students or you children make a turkey clock, I’d love for you to take a picture and tag me on Facebook or Instagram!!

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