| Snow Place like Home! Just like whales, penguins have a layer of fat under their skin called "blubber". Over top of this they are covered with fluffy "down" feathers and over top of those they have their outer feathers, which overlap to seal in warmth. Penguins rub oil from a gland onto their feathers to help make them waterproof and windproof. Even so, penguins often need help to stay warm. You will often see groups of penguins huddled shoulder to shoulder with their wings tight against their body keeping each other warm. As many as 5,000 penguins will bunch together to warm each other up. Penguins are shaped like a torpedo. Their body is built for the most efficient swimming with their average speed in the water being about 15 miles per hour. Penguins spend a lot of time dealing with temperature. They are warm blooded, just like people with a normal body temperature of about 100 degrees F. Penguins are birds with black and white feathers and a funny waddle. However, unlike most birds, penguins are not able to fly -- in the air that is. Penguins spend as much as 75% of their time underwater, searching for food in the ocean. When they are in the water, they dive and flap their wings. It looks just like they are flying! Art: Penguin Pal Materials: Empty 2 liter Plastic Bottle, Black, Orange, White Foam, Small sock, Spray Paint, Craft Glue or Glue Gun Directions: Paint the clean soda bottle with white spray paint. Cut the wings, beak, feet and eyes with "Fun Foam" or felt. When the spray paint is dry, glue the wings etc. onto the bottle. Glue the feet to the bottom of the container, as though your pal is standing. How to make a hat with a small sock: cuff it to the desired size, cut the toe out of the sock and make "fringes". Place a rubber band just below the fringe. A pink marker will make rosy cheeks. Put the hat on and you are done! Penguin Pals can also be made with smaller bottles. You can make an entire family! Penguin Finger-Puppet Need: film canister, Hot glue (adults only), fun foam Directions: Use film canisters and cut the lid in half. Hot glue them to the sides for wings. Finish up by adding a white foam belly and an orange beak and two googly eyes. Penguin Frosty To make any penguin appear frosty, dissolve 1 C. Epsom Salt with 1 C. hot water. Paint over penguin picture and when the picture dries, the salt will look just like frost. Penguin Shape Cut out penguin shapes from black paper. Paint with Epsom Salts diluted in water. It makes the penguin look frosty. Paper Bag or Film Canister Puppets For the paper bag puppets you simply use a penguin pattern. For the film container puppet you need: 1 film container per child: black with a black lid, white felt circle cut to size for the film container wiggle eyes , orange craft foam (cut out feet and beak) Directions: I made these myself with the hot glue gun. First, cut the lid in half. Cut a circle or oval shape out of white felt to fit the front of the film container and hot glue it in place. The wiggle eyes are glued on the top (the hole of the container is down so the child place it on their fingers.) The beak (orange foam triangle) is glued under the eyes, and the feet on the bottom. The lid halves are glued on each side of the container to stick out slightly. Penguin Materials 6" X 9" white and black construction paper, one of each per child Black and yellow markers Scissors Glue or stapler What to do: Trace the child's shoe on the white paper and have the child cut out, helping if necessary. This will be Penguin's body. Fold the black paper in half so it measures 6 X 4.5". Trace the child's hand with wrist on the fold. Cut out. these will be the wings. Glue or staple the black wings (folded lengthwise) around the penguins body on each side (kinda over the top of the head and down the sides). Draw eyes and beak with black and yellow markers. More to do: Glue the penguin on blue paper and use finger tips to print with white paint to create snow all around the penguin. Paper Plate Penguins Color or sponge paint the head and flippers black, the feet and beak orange-yellow, and the bow tie any color or design. Cut out these pieces. Glue the head to the back of a six inch paper plate. Glue the flippers near the head, before attaching the feet. Attach the beak and two eye cutouts. Glue on the bow tie cutout. Use a black crayon to color a narrow strip around the exposed plate rim except where it meets the penguins feet. These penguins make an eye catching bulletin board when they are stacked in a pyramid configuration. Drama Creative Movement Ask the children to waddle, jump, slip, slide and dive like penguins. Be sure to allow plenty of space for them to move around freely and safely. (You may want to use a large floor mat for protection.) Games: Pass The Penguin Play music and pass a paper or plastic toy penguin around. When the music stop, that child can walk around the center of the circle waddling like a penguin. Polar Bear, Polar Bear, Penguin Play Polar Bear, Polar Bear, Penguin using the format of Duck, Duck, Goose. When the last person is tapped with the word penguin, the 2 involved students must waddle around the circle like a penguin as fast as they can, and try to reach the empty spot first. Penguin Sliding Game I found pictures of a penguin and a seal sliding down a hill in a children's picture book. The penguin is sitting on his bottom, and one penguin is laying on his tummy. I copied them and made them into cards. I took our large foam triangular shaped wedge and covered it with white paper, and then with smooth plastic (the kind you buy to put on the floor when you're painting). The kids choose one of the cards and tell me "I want to sit and slide like this penguin" or "I want to slide on my tummy like this penguin". They then sit on a piece of cardboard made into a sled or just on the plastic and slide down. Penguin Shuffle Males protect the eggs by balancing them on their feet. So I place a bean bag on the child's feet and they shuffle from one place to another without losing the bean bag "egg". (You could use a plastic easter egg for the bean bag.) Penguin Bowling or Ice Bowling Use a 2-liter bottle. Wrap it with black construction paper. On the front of the bottle make a body and head out of white construction paper. Draw eyes on the head with a black marker. Use orange construction paper triangles to make the beak. Use orange construction paper to make the feet and glue at the bottom of the bottle. Cut the toe out of bright colored sock. Put the sock on the top of the bottle using a rubber band to hold it in place. From the toe to the neck of the bottle cut strips in the sock. Turn the strips down and you have its hat. Use soft balls to roll and try to knock the penguin down. (You can pretend they are snowballs.) Penguin Hop Play the bunny hop song and have the children pretend to be penguins hopping around. Motor Development Lie down on your stomachs on scooter boards and pretend to be penguins sledding along the ice. Penguin Waddle Relay Divide the class into 2 teams. Place half of each team behind lines 6 to 8 yards apart. Place a 6 to 8 inch rubber ball between the knees of the first two people in line and watch them waddle like penguins to give the ball to their teammates behind the opposite line. The teammates then carry the balls back to the starting line and the waddling continues until everyone has had a turn. If the ball is dropped, the penguin must go back to his/her starting point and begin again. The winning penguins are the ones that can waddle the fastest without losing the ball. Save the Penguin 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. Language: Penguin By Meish Goldish I know a bird That cannot fly: Penguin is its name. It cannot fly, But it can swim With speed that wins it fame! I know a bird That lives on ice And waddles by the sea. It looks so cute In its black and white suit, As handsome as can be! Penguin Thoughts Have you ever seen penguins in picture books? I always smile when I see their looks. They look like men in their fancy suits, All black and white from head to boots. I often wonder when it snows, Do they freeze their little penguin toes? Do they shiver and shake in their land of ice? Sitting on icebergs CAN'T BE NICE! Six Little Penguins Their suits are black and their vests are white. They waddle to the left and they waddle to the right. They stand on the ice and they look very neat, As they waddle along on their little flat feet. Six little penguins off an iceberg did dive, One bumped his beak, then there were five. Five little penguins swam the ocean floor, One saw a whale, then there were four. Four little penguins spun around, whee-ee! One spun off, then there were three! Three little penguins, with nothing to do, One went fishing, then there were two. Two little penguins, having lots of fun, One fell off, then there was one. One little penguin, when the day was done, Went home to sleep, then there were none. Little Penguin By Victoria Smith I'm a little penguin short and fat Wearing my tuxedo without any hat I live in Antarctica where I splash and play Whales, sharks, and leopard seals make me run away. I'm a Little Penguin I'm a little penguin Black and white. Short and wobbly An adorable site. I can't fly at all But I love to swim. So I'll waddle to the water And dive right in! The Penguin I am a bird you know quite well, All dressed in black and white. And even though I do have wings They're not designed for flight. I waddle, waddle, waddle, On my funny little feet. Across the icy snow I go To find a fishy treat! Math: Penguin Counting Game 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. (You can glue that number of goldfish onto a paper penguin or just place it on the paper penguin and keep playing.) 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! Music: Arctic Friends (Tune: "Jingle Bells") Traveling to the north, Explore the Arctic Sea, Near the icy shores, Whales and seals we'll meet. Bears of white stand tall, There's blubber on 'em all. Oh it is so cold way up north Near the Arctic sea! Oh... Polar bear, polar bear, Searching for a seal. In the water, under snow, That's its favorite meal.(REPEAT) Walrus calf, walrus calf, Swimming like a seal. Clams and worms and amphipods, will be your grown up meal.(REPEAT) Ringed seal pup, ringed seal pup, Hiding in your lair. When your mother leaves to fish, Watch out for polar bears! (REPEAT) Killer whale, killer whale, Hunting in the sea. Camouflaged to hide from prey, You'll catch them easily I Know A Little Penguin (Tune: "I'm a LittleTeapot") I know a little penguin Who sat on some blocks, He swam in the ocean And he climbed on some rocks! He snapped at a seagull, He snapped at a seal, He snapped at a fish, Oh, what a meal! On Top Of An Iceberg (Tune: "On Top of Old Smoky") On top of an iceberg, All covered with snow, I saw my first penguin And I wanted to know. Oh is it a bird, Or is it a fish? I looked at his feathers, And knew which was which. I said, "Mr. Penguin, Which species are you?" He said, "I'm an emperor, And not a gentoo." I said, "Mr. Penguin, What's under you patch?" He said, "It's an egg, It's ready to hatch!" I said, "Mr. Penguin, Oh, where is your wife?" "She's out in the ocean, She'll be back tonight." Said Mr. Penguin, "Her name is Jill. She's out in the ocean, Feeding on krill." The next thing I knew, I heard a small peep. And I saw a chick, At the emperor's feet! Recipes: Snack Ideas Penguins eat seafood. Their main diet is fish, though they will also eat squid, small shrimp like animals called "krill" and crustaceans. Penguin Food You can serve the children a variety of foods that can be 'penguin food.' A Ritz cracker with cream cheese and tiny shrimp on top can be Krill (or just popcorn shrimp with catsup). Tuna salad sandwiches cut with a star shaped cookie cutter can be starfish sandwiches. And, of course, goldfish crackers would also make great 'penguin food.' Crunchy Snowballs 6 cups crispy rice cereal 1/4 cup margarine one 10 oz package marshmallows powdered sugar Follow microwave directions for making crispy rice treats. Allow mixture to cool but not harden. Let children mold in to snowballs and then shake in baggie filled with powdered sugar. Edible Glacier Make a 6 oz. package blueberry flavored gelatin following package directions. Pour into a pan. Put in refrigerator until solid (several hours). Crush about 1/2 package of chocolate wafers or chocolate sandwich cookies. Mix with one container of Cool Whip and spread over the set gelatin. This is the icy blue center of the glacier, with silky snow on top. Science Q: Are penguins birds or mammals? A: Penguins are birds. They have feathers, beaks and wings, and they lay eggs. Their closest relatives are other fish-eating seabirds: the petrels and shearwaters. Q: Are penguins related to seals? A: No. Penguins look a bit little like seals when they swoop swiftly through the water. Both seals and penguins have streamlined bodies adapted for swimming and diving. And both seals and penguins breathe air. But penguins are seabirds, while seals are sea mammals. Q: How fast can penguins swim? A: It varies from species to species-generally, larger species swim faster than small ones. Black footed penguins and gentoo penguins have been measured to swim at about 15 miles an hour (24 km/hr). That's four times faster than the fastest human swimmer! Q: How fast can penguins walk? A: Their normal waddle is pretty slow, about two miles an hour (3.2 km/hr). But when penguins are afraid or angry, they can put their heads down and run with surprising speed. They can often outrun a penguin scientist who is trying to catch them! Q: Why do penguins walk funny? A: A penguin's legs are set far back on its body. On land, this makes penguins walk with that cute waddle. But in the water, these far-out feet become rudders that help the penguin steer. Q: Do penguins have teeth? A: No, but they have soft, flexible spikes on their tongues and in their throats, which keep slippery fish from wiggling away. Q: Which animals eat penguins? A: In the water, penguins have to watch out for sharks and leopard seals. On land, birds called skuas will grab penguin eggs and chicks. In many places, penguins are also threatened by introduced predators: cats, foxes or other animals brought into the penguin's habitat by humans. Q: Where do penguins sleep? A: When they're on land to breed or molt their feathers, penguins sleep at their nesting territories. But penguins also spend much of the year feeding-and sleeping-on the open ocean, without touching land for months. Q: How long do penguins live? A: In the wild, penguins might live 15 to 20 years. Protected in captivity, they can live much longer: the record is 31 years for a captive Magellanic penguin. Sensory Ice Cube Painting Need: Penguin pattern, orange and black powdered paint, ice cube with Popsicle stick. Directions: Freeze Popsicle sticks into ice cubes. Cut out white penguin shapes. Have the children sprinkle the paint on the penguin and paint with an ice cube on a stick. Variation: Use black paper and paint with white and orange powdered paint. The Blubber Glove Experiment Materials 4 Zip lock Baggies. A Bucket of very icy cold water. Vegetable shortening Description: Place about 1 cup of shortening in the bottom of a baggie. Turn another baggie inside out and place it inside of the baggie containing shortening. Zip the two baggies together, sealing shortening between layers of baggies. Seal two other baggies together in the same manner (But do not place anything between the layers - just the two baggies.) Now have the children slip a shortening filled baggie on one hand and a empty baggie on the other. Then the the children put their hands into the icy cold water and see how the shortening filled baggie insulates their hand from the cold. Explain that this is much like the way the blubber insulates the penguins, whales, seals etc. from their icy cold waters in the Antarctic. Hot and Cold Activity Materials: Magazines, scissors, glue, poster board and markers. Description: After a few hands-on activities about hot and cold, have an assortment of magazines available and tell your class to cut out pictures of things that are hot or cold. Have each child glue his pictures on the appropriate poster (hot or cold) that you have already prepared and displayed on a wall or easel. Make sure the magazines have lots of food items and clothing items. Store catalogs and grocery store flyers work great. 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. |
| All the DAZE Productions Endless ideas for "all the daze" you spend with children. |
| Penguin DAZE |
| c. Marcia Arpin www.alltheDAZE.com established July, 1, 2002 |
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| Snowbody is Perfect |
| "Thanks a lot Marcia. Great ideas and great site. Really helpful. My kids at school enjoyed the themes and activities I used from here. The leaves and sensory activities were the best. Once again thanks." Elena |