There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Turkey Activities
Focus on early math and literacy skills when you add these There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Turkey activities to your holiday preschool lessons.
This no-prep book companion makes the perfect addition to your preschool Thanksgiving plans.
Little learners love this popular children’s book, and you can extend the learning with these fun worksheets.
Don’t miss these free preschool printables! They’re perfect for your Thanksgiving activities or turkey-themed lesson plans!
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Turkey Activities
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Turkey is such a fun book to read to preschoolers during the Thanksgiving holiday. Your preschoolers may already be familiar with this quirky old lady who swallows random things. If they aren’t, this is a great book to start with!
The old lady is at it again, and this time she’s swallowing a Turkey . . . she’s always been quirky! You won’t believe why this old lady swallowed a turkey, a ball, a hat, a balloon, a boat, some wheels, and a horn of plenty! Read this book and find out why!
As you read this story with your preschoolers, be prepared for lots of giggles. But, you can also use it as a way to introduce predictions to your preschoolers. Can your preschoolers guess why the old lady swallowed all those items?
Once you’ve read the story a time or two (or more), extend the learning with this fun pack of math and literacy worksheets. These preschool worksheets are print-and-go! They’re perfect for busy preschool moms and teachers like you.
Our free resources feature activities that include coloring pages, handwriting practice, counting, and more.
WHAT’S INCLUDED
If your preschoolers enjoy coloring, they’ll love coloring the images featured on the color and trace pages. There’s a turkey and an old lady.
After coloring the pictures, they’ll trace the words. Coloring helps build fine motor muscles in the hand while tracing words helps kids practice proper letter formation.
The trace the lines activity is yet another chance for kids to fine tune their fine motor skills as they trace various lines and color the images on the page.
Next, young learners will focus on visual discrimination as they color the smallest one in each row on the page.
On the which one is different page, tots and preschoolers will search for the picture that isn’t like the rest, and they’ll identify it by coloring or dotting (with a dot marker) the image that is different.
Toddlers and preschoolers will count the items in each row on the how many page, and then write the number on the line. This is a great activity to reinforce counting, one-to-one correspondence, and number formation.
The match the items page is a simple visual discrimination practice page. Kids will draw a line connecting the matching objects.
On the label it page, kids will increase their vocabulary while practice their scissor skills as they cut out the labels and glue them in the correct box.
To work on story comprehension, your kids can color the objects the old lady swallows as you read the story aloud. Or, you can have them complete the page after you’ve read the story to see what they remember.
Lastly, children will fill in the missing numbers in a set of three. This helps you determine where they may need practice with number recognition, counting on, or handwriting.
Variations:
You can make any or all of these pages reusable by laminating them or putting them in a dry erase pocket. Kids can then complete the pages with dry erase markers.
PRESCHOOL BOOKS ABOUT THANKSGIVING
Fill your book basket with a great collection of Thanksgiving books. Most of these books can be found at your local library or used bookstore.
Here are a few of our favorite turkey books to read with your young readers this holiday season.
How to Catch a Turkey – A turkey is running loose in a school right before a Thanksgiving play. Can YOU help catch it? Follow along as students turn their school upside down trying to catch the turkey, ending with a twist that ensures no turkeys are harmed (or eaten!).
Turkey Trouble – Turkey is in trouble. Bad trouble. The kind of trouble where it’s almost Thanksgiving . . . and you’re the main course. But Turkey has an idea–what if he doesn’t look like a turkey? What if he looks like another animal instead?
10 Fat Turkeys – Girls and boys will gobble up this hilarious story about ten goofy turkeys and their silly antics: swinging from a vine, strutting on a boar, doing a noodle dance, and more.
Teaching Resources
There’s just something special about the Kids’ Table at family gatherings and Thanksgiving is no exception. This sweet little turkey crayon holder will occupy kiddos of all ages while the finishing touches go into Thanksgiving meal prep.
These embroidered felt turkey masks inspire creative play and are the perfect dress up tool for your child’s imaginative play. They can be used in so many ways!
Let your preschoolers get creative with this adorable fork-painted turkey craft!
Thanksgiving Book-Based Printables
- Turkey Trouble Printable
- How to Catch a Turkey Activities
- Turkeys in Disguise Color by Numbers
- How to Catch a Turkey Worksheets
- There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Turkey Free Printables
MORE THANKSGIVING FUN
• These funny turkey tees are perfect for the whole family!
• Add pilgrim and turkey peg dolls to your small world play area this holiday season.
• A paper Thanksgiving-themed table cover to color is perfect for the kids table!
Tara is the brains behind Homeschool Preschool, where her journey from preschool and public school teacher to homeschooling mom of three fuels her passion for early childhood education. With a blend of expertise and firsthand experience, Tara’s writings offer practical tips and engaging resources to support families in creating meaningful learning adventures at home.