Rainbow Resource Room
PENGUIN ACTIVITY THEME
Click the Rainbow for The Rainbow Resource Room
Click the Schoolhouse for Activity Central
Print this Page
This happy penguin invites you to look through these delightful winter learning activities that will enrich your preschool and kindergarten curriculum with ideas for counting, math, movement, crafts and a fingerplay.
There are 3 black & white printable coloring pages of Penguins associated with this theme. Use your BACK button to return to this page.
Penguin Bulletin Board
Materials: Black construction paper, white
construction paper, popsicle sticks,
Description: I've done this bulletin board with 2 year olds, all the way up to my 1st grade class. Depending on the age of your children they can either trace the penguin pattern onto black construction paper and cut it out or you can have them pre-cut for them. I use a penguin stencil from an animal pack. I have 2 versions, 1 with the beak to the side and 1 facing forward, no beak showing.
Make an oval the appropriate size for the penguin's belly out of white construction paper. either have a pattern for children to trace or have it ready for them. You can cut orange triangles for the beak, and webbed feet. Have the students glue the white belly, wiggle eyes, beak and feet onto the black penguin pattern. Glue two popsicle sticks to the penguins feet for skis. I encourage the children to glue them any way they want.
Once the penguins are finished I attach them
to a bulletin board with a blue background and white paper cut to look
like snowy hills. I like to use the way the penguins look to decide
how to put them on the board. For example; if the skis are crossed
I might staple the penguin upside down, if the skis are straight, I put
it on the hill facing downward. The kids always enjoy making the
penguins and then seeing them on the board, especially the ones that have
Materials: Yogurt Cups, glue, construction paper and paper plates.
Description: Turn the yogurt cup up-side down
on the paper plate. Glue it there, and
cut a hole towards the opening of the cup. Have children create a penguin out
of construction paper by having a circular body, eyes and a nose already
prepared. The kids just have to glue them together.
Glue the penguin next to the yogurt
cup. Add some silver glitter. It looks like is a penguin coming out of
Materials: Black paper, orange paper, white paper, Epsom salt , water and glue.
Description: After discussing penguins our class makes Frosty Penguins. My class are toddlers so everything is pre cut. Older children may do some of the cutting themselves. We start with the black shape of the penguin. Children glue on white circles for eyes and orange triangles for beaks. Then they brush on a mixture of Epsom salt and water. When dry the Epsom salt mixture looks frosty.
For more teacher made special effects take
a look at Art Recipes.
Materials: Beanbags and music.
Description: Have the children form two lines
and waddle back and forth as if in a
relay with beanbags on top of feet side by side. They are doing the
Save the Penguins!
Materials: Small penguin erasers, ice cube trays, medicine droppers, margarine containers and aluminum pie plates.
Description: Using the ice cube trays, place one eraser in each slot, then fill with blue colored water. Place in the freezer overnight. The next day, fill your water table with water and several large icebergs (margarine containers filled with water and frozen the night before).
Give each child a pie plate, a medicine dropper and a frozen penguin. Explain that the penguin accidentally froze in the ocean waters and we must save them! Give each child a small container (applesauce container size) filled with salt water. Have the child fill the medicine dropper with salt water and drop, drop, drop onto the frozen penguin. Have the child keep dropping water onto the penguin until it is freed! As soon as the penguin is freed, have the child bring it to the water table to freely swim in the ocean waters with his other penguin friends.
Comments: Have plenty of extra penguins to
free as this is a very exciting activity.
"What Do Penguins Eat?"
Materials: Tape of sounds of the sea, a shallow
tray of water, objects that will allow you to set a snowy scene. I use
boxes covered in white sheets and wadding sprinkled with cotton balls
and penguins which we had made earlier.
Description: Set up the room with the sounds of the sea and a snowy scene. Darken the room. Encourage all the children to walk into the room, pretending you are going on an expedition to find out what penguins eat.
The children all come in and sit around the shallow tray of water. Place the fish in the water and allow the children to "catch" the fish, smelling and handling it. We then cook and taste the fish. We make tuna sandwiches also. Some of the children will be more willing to try the sandwiches.
Comment: We had a great afternoon and the children's attention was excellent which is not always the case with my group! I teach a group of children with severe learning difficulties and challenging behaviors age 3 - 6 years.
Materials: A number dial or dice with numbers, Goldfish crackers and a picture of a penguin - 1 for each child.
Description: Children take turns spinning the dial or rolling the dice for a number. Then then count out that number of goldfish from a center bowl to feed their penguin.
This can also be done for subtraction. The children start with an equal number of goldfish for their penguins, and the number they spin is returned to the ocean. Those are the fish able to swim away from the penguin.
Comments: Have lots of goldfish crackers on
hand. For every fish the penguin gets at least two are eaten!
Involvement: "Math Suitcase"
Materials: Box, bag OR Suitcase, math games and a letter to parents.
Description: I send home a Math suitcase with a different child every week. They take it home on Thursday and bring it back on Tuesday. This gives me time to replenish any missing pieces. In the math Suitcase there are simple math games that I have made. For example:
A game board (piece of tag board) with a mommy penguin in theAlso included are number flash cards and a simple graph game with apple stickers in three different colors. I add things and take away things depending on the level
of the student going home with the suitcase. And you must include a letter to the parents. Include the due back date of the suitcase and a short note on how to use the suitcase with their child.
Materials: Bean bags.
Description: Explain to youngsters that male
penguins keep their young warm by having them stay on top of their feet
under the feathers. Then encourage the children to balance bean bags on
top of their feet and try to "waddle" around the room.
Activity: "Penguin Pins"
Materials: 3 wooden ice cream spoons, black paint, glue, fiberfill, orange felt, wiggle eyes, tape and pin backing or safety pin.
Description: Paint two of the ice cream spoons
black. Use glue and cover one side of the 3 spoons with fiberfill.
Glue the handle end of the 2 black spoons together so that
the bowl ends flare out to make wings. Glue the fiberfill covered
spoon behind and between the black
ones, so the white is the tummy of the penguin.
Materials: Book Penguin Pete, craft sticks, black, white, and orange paper.
Description: Read the book Penguin Pete and then show a factual book about penguins. Have children make penguins using the paper and add craft sticks for skis.
Older preschoolers should be encouraged to cut out the shapes.The penguins consist of a large black oval shape,
Materials: SMALL slide, pillows or soft mat for landing.
Description: Ask the children to waddle - hands as if they are holding their vest, heels together and toes turned out, jump - with feet together. And slip; slide; or dive as penguins do on the ice. Use a small slide for the children to "dive" head first in to a pile of pillows or soft mat which we call the ocean.
Comments: The children love being penguins and diving into the ocean. They especially enjoyed the "rule breaker" of sliding head first down a slide. Emphasis was put on landing on soft pillows and how this wouldn't be possible on the large outdoor slide with the harder landing surface we have.
Peppy, Peppy, Penguin was marching by, (Stand tall)
Description: Place about 1 cup of Crisco in
the bottom of a baggie. Turn another
Now have the children slip a Crisco filled
baggie on one hand and a empty baggie on
Materials: Magazines, scissors, glue, poster board and markers.
Description: After a few hands-on activities
about this hot and cold, have an
Comment: You can use these "Hot and Cold" posters for Circle Time discussions. The same activity can be modified for 3 yr. olds if the teacher precuts all pictures and allows the children to sort them.
Roll the playground ball, trying to knock down the pins.Set up penguins
Comments: Making the pins
takes time but the children love the activity and it can
Printable Page: Penguin On Skis
in this theme!
Click the Rainbow for The Rainbow Resource Room
Click the Schoolhouse for Activity Central
Search the Preschool Rainbow