Kid’s Thanksgiving Clay Cornucopia
Create a centerpiece for your holiday table with this kid’s Thanksgiving clay cornucopia.
Cornucopia translates literally as “horn of plenty.” The cornucopia, a traditional Thanksgiving centerpiece or decoration, represents abundance and harvest with fruit and vegetables overflowing from a horn or horn-shaped basket.
For this year’s Thanksgiving craft, the kids used air dry clay to create a cornucopia. Colorful air dry clay is light and easy for little hands to sculpt. We put out fruits and vegetables and a photo of a cornucopia as inspiration. While crafting, we talked about Thanksgiving, harvest, shapes, colors, and size comparisons. My 4- and 5-year olds enjoyed recreating pumpkins, apples, carrots, and grapes and included a few imaginary vegetables. My daughter added faces to each food. I joined in the crafting fun as well; air dry clay is not just for young kiddos!
For another fall craft, make a reversible pumpkin snowman from wood slices or a paper mache pumpkin.
Tips for Working With Air Dry Clay
Work on a craft tray (we use baking sheets for craft trays) or wax paper taped to the table with painter’s tape.
Air dry clay begins to dry once exposed to air, but takes 1-2 days to fully dry depending on sculpture’s thickness (follow instructions for drying time). While drying, place sculpture on wax paper to prevent clay from sticking to or discoloring surface.
Once colors are pushed together, they are very hard to pull apart. Create a marble effect by mixing, but not completely blending, two colors.
Kid’s Thanksgiving Clay Cornucopia – Supplies
- construction paper
- scissors
- tape
- air dry clay
- clay/playdough tools (rolling pin, knife) or plastic table knife and hard cylinder
- craft tray or wax paper
- toothpicks
- fall fruit and vegetables
- photos of fall fruit and vegetables
- spray protective sealer
How to Make Kid’s Thanksgiving Clay Cornucopia
1. Make the Horn
Form a cone from construction paper and tape to hold the shape.
Use a rolling pin or firm cylinder to roll the clay into a flat circle about 1/4″ thick. Fold the clay circle around the construction paper cone and trim excess to form smooth edges. Add detail with a toothpick, maybe a basketweave pattern, waves or just random lines.
Another method for making the cone is to roll a long clay “snake.” Wrap the “snake” around the construction paper cone so that the edges touch. Continue wrapping until the cone reaches the desired size. Press the coils together to form into a solid cone.
Allow the clay to dry for several minutes, then remove the construction paper. Fill the tip of the cone with clay to hold the shape.
Form another bit of clay into a flat semi-circle. Attach the semi-circle to the cone to hold the overflowing “bounty.”
2. Make the Bounty
Place fruit and vegetables, or photos, on the table in front of child. Working on one item at a time, form the clay to resemble the fruit or vegetable. This is a great opportunity to talk about and compare shapes, color, and texture. Also chat about foods kids want to have for Thanksgiving.
Roll clay into a ball for an apple or a curved log shape for a banana. Add ribs on a pumpkin or kernels on an ear of corn using a table knife or toothpick.
3. Fill the Horn
Place clay fruits and vegetables inside cone, filling it to the top to hold the cone shape. Press the bounty firmly into the cone to join, but be careful not to deform the “bounty.”
Let cornucopia dry for 2 days, then spray with protective sealer.
Let us know what bounty your kiddos created.
Kid's Thanksgiving Clay Cornucopia
Get ready for Thanksgiving with this fun cornucopia craft. Inspire kiddos' imaginations by using real fruit and vegetables as models for versions they make from air dry clay.
Materials
- construction paper
- air dry clay
- fall fruit and vegetables
- photos of fall fruit and vegetables
- spray protective sealer
Tools
- scissors
- tape
- clay/playdough tools (rolling pin, knife) or plastic table knife and hard cylinder
- toothpicks
Instructions
- Form a cone from construction paper and tape to hold the shape.
- Use a rolling pin or firm cylinder to roll the clay into a flat circle about 1/4" thick. Fold the clay circle around the construction paper cone and trim excess to form smooth edges. Add detail with a toothpick, maybe a basketweave pattern, waves or just random lines.
- Another method for making the cone is to roll a long clay "snake." Wrap the "snake" around the construction paper cone so that the edges touch. Continue wrapping until the cone reaches the desired size. Press the coils together to form into a solid cone.
- Allow the clay to dry for several minutes, then remove the construction paper. Fill the tip of the cone with clay to hold the shape.
- Form another bit of clay into a flat semi-circle. Attach the semi-circle to the cone to hold the overflowing "bounty."
- Place fruit and vegetables, or photos, on the table in front of child. Working on one item at a time, form the clay to resemble the fruit or vegetable. This is a great opportunity to talk about and compare shapes, color and texture. Also chat about foods kids want to have for Thanksgiving. Roll clay into a ball for an apple or a curved log shape for a banana. Add ribs on a pumpkin or kernels on an ear of corn using a table knife or toothpick.
- Place clay fruits and vegetables inside cone, filling it to the top to hold the cone shape. Press the bounty firmly into the cone to join, but be careful not to deform the "bounty."
- Let the cornucopia dry for 2 days, then spray with interior protective sealer.
Notes
Tips for Working WIth Air Dry Clay:
Work on a baking sheet or wax paper taped to the table with painter's tape.
Air dry clay begins to dry once exposed to air, but takes 1-2 days to fully dry depending on sculpture's thickness (follow instructions for drying time). While drying, place sculpture on wax paper to prevent clay from sticking to or discoloring surface.
Once colors are pushed together, they are very hard to pull apart. Create a marble effect by mixing, but not completely blending, two colors.
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