Thanksgiving Craft from Food for Kids: The Tortilla Teepee

Kids enjoy creating crafts all year long, and Thanksgiving is no exception. This year, celebrate the holiday with Indian crafts, in addition to pilgrims and turkeys. As you look around your home, there are more craft supplies that you can imagine. Look beyond construction paper and glue and reach for a pack of large tortillas. With a tortilla, a few markers, and a little imagination, an area of your home can look like the wilderness that met the Pilgrims as they ventured across America. Or, you can simply use them to make adorable table decorations and place holders.

What You Need for Your Thanksgiving Tortilla Teepee

* Half of a Large Tortilla for Teepee (each tortilla makes two teepees)

* Permanent Markers (or non-Washable should work) in various colors

* Pointy Toothpicks

Step #1: Decorate Your Teepee

The first step of this Thanksgiving-time craft is to have the kids decorate the outside of the teepee. With the tortilla flat on a table, use the permanent markers to draw Indian Nation symbols. Such symbols include animal tracks, like bear claws and deer prints, the sun, an arrow, as well as many more. You will not need to go near the cut edges of the tortilla, as those will be folded anyway.

I was not the most educated on Native American history and culture (disclaimer: and still do not claim to be), but a little search on Google for "Native American Symbols" will give you enough results to produce the teepee of your dreams. I believe the idea behind the decorations on items such as teepees and totem poles is to display cultural, familial, or religious beliefs. For some kids, the symbols themselves help them decide what to put on their teepee. For others, it is the meaning behind each symbol will be the determining factor for creating a tortilla teepee. If you so choose, you can use items that are specific to Thanksgiving, including a turkey, a corn stalk or corn on the cob, or any additional pictures that come to mind.

Step #2: Build Your Teepee

Once you have your teepee decorated, you will be able to build it. For this part, you will need approximately three or four toothpicks. The sharp ones will allow you to puncture the tortilla without difficulty. Due to the fact that the toothpicks are sharp, this step of the craft project should be supervised if done with younger kids. (For example, my five-year-old did great, but my three-year-old needed some assistance).

To build your Thanksgiving decoration, you must first fold the teepee into a cone shape. Once you have found your form, you will take one or two toothpicks and "sew" it through the side of the tortilla where the two ends meet, which will allow your teepee to hold its shape. Then, taking two toothpicks, cross through the top of teepee. These two toothpicks can either go parallel to each other or form an "X" at the top.

Depending on how many teepee crafts you want to make, you can either repeat or clean up your craft area. With the number of decorations you can draw onto your teepee, the possibilities are endless for this Thanksgiving craft.

Step #3: Proudly Display Your Teepee(s) on Thanksgiving.

Once your crafts are complete, you are ready for Thanksgiving. Although the teepee will stand upon creation, it is ideal to do this project a couple of days ahead of time. By doing so, you will allow the teepee to dry and harden. This will enable your craft to be viewed and/or handled multiple times without falling apart on Thanksgiving.