P is for Penguin


~Malachi is 4 years, 1 1/2 months ~

Penguins were a perfect idea for the letter P! Mali's older brothers are studying Antarctica, so we all did penguin activities and minit books. Here is Mali's boxes with penguin activities one day . . . lots of
penguin books, crafts, minit books, etc.

 

ABC Book:

Mali's first penguin project.


Memory Verse:
(From Sing the Word A-Z)
"Put on the full armor of God . . . "


Penguin Books:
The Emperors Egg, Martin Jenkins
The Emperor Lays an Egg, by Brenda Z. Guiberson
A Mother's Journey, by Sandra Markle
Where is Home, Little Pip?, by Karma Wilson
Baby Penguins (Planet Earth), by Quinlan B. Lee


Songs and Finger-plays:

We did this waddle & hop, slide & guide activity with the songs/fingerplays below.

Have You Ever Seen A Penguin? Have you ever seen a penguin? A penguin. . .a penguin! Have you ever seen a penguin swim this way and that way? Swim this way and that way . . . and this way and that way? Have you ever seen a penguin swim this way and that? (point)
. . .  slide this way and that way? . . .  waddle this way and that way?

A Penguin (Children are standing)
 A penguin when he goes somewhere, (waddle from side to side) Will walk or swim; here's why: (waddle first, then "swim") Although he has two bird-like wings, (hold up two fingers) He simply cannot fly! (tuck hands into armpits and "flap" wings)

Get Set for the Code Activities:


Vocabulary in this lesson include parrot, pencil, parachute, pig, purse, pear, pants, paint and pie. The review at the end of the lesson is really good for Mali. It reinforces what he has already learned and builds his confidence in recognizing letters and sounds.

Paper Weaving (with penguin colors)

 

I cut lines on a piece of cardstock and gave Mali strips of paper to weave in and out. I then laminated it for use as a placemat.

Science:

We talked about whether a penguin is a fish, a mammal or a bird.  He still thinks it is none of these as each time I ask him whether a penguin is a fish, mammal or bird, he replies, "It's a penguin!" I can see why he is confused, because while it is a bird, it does not use it's wings to fly, but as flippers to swim.  We also talked about the life cycle of a penguin from egg to adult.


Geography:

We learned that Penguins live in Antarctica and that penguins don't live in the north pole, only in the south pole. I talked to Mali about the differences between the north and south poles and what animals live there. We used a globe to find Antarctica and talked about the other places penguins are found south of the equator. 


Lapbook activities:


Waddle and Hop, Slide and Glide, Which Happens First? and Adding up Fish


A penguin minit book with songs on its belly.


Cuddling Penguins minit book.


Making a penguin with foam and cotton balls.


Fingerplays, Songs and Puppets minit book.


Mali made fingerprint penguins for this minit book.


Penguin eggs number matching game.

 The finished lapbook:

 

We watched The March of the Penguins and Mali loved seeing the baby penguins. To conclude our lesson, we watched Happy Feet and made Penguin cut out cookies.


Delightful Links:
Preschool Penguins Lapbook Activities
Waddle, Hop, Slide and Glide activity on how penguins get around Homeschool Share - Polar Animals Lapbook Lessons for Penguin Lapbook
National Geographic Kids: Creature Features (we liked the facts, photos and videos):
Penguin Chick Activities (printables from lesson 1 &2 - Adding up Fish, Which Happen's First? and Alike or Different)

2 comments

  1. Looks like a great week, Michelle! Love the foam penguin and the placemat! (and those workboxes are so going to be in my house soon!). :)

    Jolanthe

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  2. I'm having fun and learning much by looking around your blog! I'm hoping to do some lapbooks this year!

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