Penguins

Language & Literacy

Books

Songs, Poems, & Fingerplays:

Penguin Penguin

Penguin Penguin short and sweet

would you like a fishy treat?

How many fish would you like? 

I will feed you __________ tonight...

Literacy :  Recite this rhyme with children then have them take turns picking a card or rolling a dice to see how many fish they should feed the penguin. Make a simple Penguin for the kids to feed using a paper bag and penguin and fish clip art, or try a puppet and cut a slit in it's mouth. Have them count the fish as they place them in the penguins mouth. (A good activity for early literacy, number recognition  and counting.)

Activities

Read: Five Little Penguins Slipping on the Ice: Use with Felt Board characters you have created. Our Print Our Penguin Counting Set! Invite children to remove the penguins as you read the story with them. 

Math & Number Concepts

Program Penguins and Igloo's with Numbers and dots or mini fish stamps for children to use as a matching game. 

Art

Popsicle Painting- Freeze Tempera paint in ice cube trays with Popsicle sticks in them, pop them out and use at your easel for a fun new painting experience. Hint: Bio Colors work best because they tend to not mix together and so you can make rainbow pops putting more than one color in each cube spot.

Dramatic Play 

Fishing for Friends- Fill a sensory table or shallow bucket with white rice. Program fish shapes with each child's name that is in your program or class (I also put their picture on the back) Make fishing poles with dowel rods and magnets attached to strings. Put large paper clips on all of the fish and bury them in the rice for the children to fish out. We add hats and mittens and big buckets to sit on to this area to make it like they are really ice fishing. 

Music & Movement

The Freeze is a fun song to do during a Penguin Theme.

Dance like a penguin. play some instrumental music and ask kids to waddle like penguins as they dance.

Science & Discovery

Ice Bergs- Fill your sensory table with water and large various frozen ice chunks. We freeze water in various containers and add it to the water filled sensory table. Add polar bears, seals, and penguin figurines to create an artic habitat. Enhance the area with books and magazines about ice berg, polar regions, and penguins.

Blocks & Building

Cover your blocks with white butcher paper for the children to build ice sculptures or igloos

Puzzles, Games & Manipulatives

Computers

Cooking

Bulletin Boards

Other Resources