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Alrighty…I have LOTS of activities for you to choose from today! Don’t let it overwhelm you! Just pick and choose what your kids (and you) would like best. It was so hard to narrow down, because there are just too many great ideas for learning about penguins!! 🐧
You can find all of my printables and activity ideas for today by scrolling below! ❄️
Are you new to Winter School 2024? No worries! You can learn more about it here and join our Winter School FB group as well🙂 If you need to print out the Winter School Calendar, scroll to the bottom of this post and pop your email in so I can send it to you!
Keep reading below for more about Penguin Day!
Day #10. Penguin Day!
Here is some of what we are planning to do on Friday! 🙂
Activities
IMPORTANT NOTE: These printable activities will be FREE for you to download, but only until Penguin Day is over! So, make sure to download them even if you are going to do Penguin Day later in the week – that way you can still snag them for free. If you could leave a review behind afterwards, that would be amazing too! THANK YOU!! 🥰❤️
#1. Penguin Coloring Page
Here is a simple coloring page for your kiddos to color or paint as they learn about penguins!
Older students could also cut out the penguin and use it as a stencil! It would be great to carefully tape down and stamp Arctic/ocean colors around it, using tinfoil balls, a bunch of Q-tips, OR sponge brushes!
#2. Penguin Photo Craft
Here is a cute craft for you to do with your kids – it’ll make a great school keepsake!
Have them pick and color a penguin from this printable here. Once they are finished, they can cut out a photo of themselves and glue it in place of the penguin’s face. If they want, there is a beak that they can also cut out and glue on top of their nose!
#3. How Does a Penguin Stay Dry? Science Experiment
You won’t need much to do this experiment! Just print out this printable, grab black, white, and orange crayons, a spray bottle (or dropper, if you don’t have a spray bottle), and some water. You could also use food coloring too, but that is optional.
This printable comes with step-by-step instructions to guide you through the experiment! You’ll basically just have your student color one side of the penguin with crayon and leave the other side alone. They will then spray or drop colored water on both sides and see what happens to the water droplets. Will they start to soak into the paper? Will they not?
It would also be interesting to carefully carry this over to the sink or above a container and hold it straight up…to see how the water droplets fall off the penguin (it should easily roll off the crayon-coated side and it shouldn’t roll off as easily on the regular/non-crayon side).
#4. Label the Penguin Worksheet
This Label the Penguin Worksheet comes with a word bank at the bottom of the page and an answer key on the next page.
I’m going to have my kids continue to do these label worksheets after watching the educational videos (those links are below if you scroll down).
#5. Seal Mini Research Book (Writing Activity)
I made this mini book project so that my kids could have something in hand to take notes on while we watch some of the educational videos below.
I’ve found that it’s really helpful to build their listening skills and to help them pay better attention, if they have some specific information to listen for.
You will want to print these two pages DOUBLE-SIDED and flip it on the short edge. Cut once down the blue line. Fold both pieces of paper and then tuck the bottom piece into the top piece. Make sure the page numbers line up before stapling shut.
Snack
Snack time today is a Chocolate-Covered Banana Penguin!
Depending on the size, cut a banana into 2 or 3 sections. Place in freezer for about 20-30 minutes, as you prepare the rest of the ingredients. You’ll want to melt some chocolate wafers and grab 3 orange M&Ms, 1 mini marshmallow and 2 raisins per penguin. Take the bananas out of the freezer and use a spoon to coat the banana with chocolate, like the photo below. Use a little chocolate to “glue” the M&Ms on. Cut a mini marshmallow in half and place a raisin in each one. Use chocolate to glue these in place as the eyes. See the photo below for an example!
Books
(Note: Some of these books are new to me, so be sure to skim it beforehand if you want to make sure it’s something your family values align with).
Today we’ll be reading, “Pierre the Penguin” by Jean Marzollo, “National Geographic Readers: Penguins!” by Anne Schreiber, and “Parker the Penguin Goes on Vacation” by Michael Posey.
If you were unable to grab these books from the library or store, here are some read aloud options on YouTube!
Educational Videos
Pick and choose (or watch all of) the videos below to learn more about penguins! ❄️🐧
Here is a Wild Kratts episode about penguins!
Here is a longer documentary – as always, I recommend watching it with your kids in case it becomes too much!
Do You Have More Time? Here Are Some Extra Ideas!
#1. Have a family movie night and watch Happy Feet!
#2. Follow along to draw this penguin over at Art for Kids Hub.
#3. Or follow along with this tutorial to draw a realistic Emperor penguin!
I hope you guys enjoyed learning about penguins! 💙 If you need to print out the Winter Calendar still, drop your email below and I’ll send it right over!
PS: Check back soon for my blog post about Narwhal Day! 🙂
