We’re making an egg carton bobblehead penguin preschool craft to go along with a penguin unit or just for fun. Also, grab more preschool ideas on my page How to Homeschool Preschool and Winter Season Unit Study Free Lapbook & Hands-On Ideas.
Beyond that you can use little penguin figurines to help teach your child about the different climates penguins live in.
Turning a fun little craft into a science and geography lesson at the same time with an activity that feels more like play.
I also have a few more suggestions for hands on activities that your preschooler will enjoy.
From snacks to science lessons there are plenty of ideas to keep them interested in learning about penguins.
Penguins are adorable and can be found in both hot and cold climates.
This is a great time to introduce the concept that not all penguins are found belly-sliding on the ice.
Some even enjoy the hot deserts of South America.
Books About Penguins
Next look at some of the books about penguins.
I lean toward living books first then like to add reference type books when teaching my children.
11 Penguin Books & Resources for Kids Who Love to Read and Be Read To
Add some of these books and resources about penguins to your learning day.
With a new children’s book imprint, the Bodleian Library brings beloved classics back into print, beginning with a beautiful storybook about the life of a fascinating Antarctic species. Originally published in 1962, Penguin’s Way by Johanna Johnston tells the surprising story of these creatures, complete with colorful artwork by award-winning illustrator Leonard Weisgard. In Penguin’s Way, a playful colony of emperor penguins lives on the edge of a faraway secret sea. During the summers, the penguins are content to fish and swim in the icy waters. But, when the seasons change, they must travel more than one hundred miles to the snowy lands surrounding the South Pole. All across the snow plain, the penguins sing songs to welcome newly hatched chicks into the world, but how will the fluffy newborns survive the freezing winter? Few things pique children’s curiosity about the world around them better than a good book. Brought back for a new generation of young readers, Penguin’s Way offers a fun and creative introduction to these fascinating animals.
Charming Characters: Meet the endearing Mr. Popper and his comical penguins, each with their distinct personalities and quirks, creating a delightful and memorable cast of characters.
Whimsical Adventures: Follow Mr. Popper and his penguins on a series of whimsical escapades, as they navigate unexpected challenges and create joyous chaos in their small town.
Heartwarming Message: Experience the heartwarming message of friendship, family, and the importance of embracing the unexpected, as Mr. Popper's life is transformed by the presence of his unusual feathered companions.
Whiteblack the Penguin is worried. He has run out of stories for his radio show, a dire situation for the Chief Storyteller of Penguinland. So Whiteblack decides to travel in search of new tales to share. The result is a journey that spans the globe and not only introduces the precocious penguin to a host of colorful characters but teaches him about the power of friendship and what it means to be a hero. Originally created in 1937, while the Reys lived in Paris, this delightful story is being published for the first time, and is sure to enchant readers young and old. From the creators of Curious George, Whiteblack the Penguin Sees The World is a timeless tale with all the hilarity and childlike sense of adventure characteristic of the Reys’ previous work.
Can you imagine spending the winter outdoors in Antarctica without anything to eat? That’s just what the male Emperor penguin does. While his mate is off swimming and catching loads of fish, he stands around in the freezing cold with an egg on his feet for two whole months, keeping it warm and waiting for it to hatch. Welcome to the story of the world’s most devoted dad!
A new edition to the acclaimed Strange and Wonderful series. The seventeen species of penguins come in all sizes and are fascinating in many other ways. The little blue penguin, the smallest, stands about sixteen inches high, and the emperor penguin, the largest, stands almost four feet tall. Some penguins are named for how they look, such as the black-footed penguin, while others are named for where they live, such as the Galapagos penguin. Laurence Pringle's informative book, with stunning illustrations by Meryl Henderson, introduces young readers to the life and behavior of one of nature's most remarkable birds.
This penguin figures set was made by hand painted with high realistically detailed appearance, cute face and childish eyes. Their uniquely molded textures and richly painted details make the animals vivid. And all the animal figures stands up very well, they do not fall over. Children would like to spend more time to observe and play with them.
African penguins waddle around nesting colonies in lower numbers than ever before. Despite South African government efforts to protect the penguin colonies and their ocean fish supply, young penguins still struggle to survive. Fuzzy chicks waiting for food in open nests may overheat in the sun or become prey. Others simply may not get enough food to survive on their own once their parents leave. But new conservation methods, including rescuing and hand-feeding vulnerable chicks, are giving experts hope. Can volunteers and scientists help save Africa's only penguins before it's too late?
This documentary chronicles the heroic and harrowing journey that emperor penguins make amid subfreezing temperatures and violent snowstorms at the South Pole in order to mate.
A family finds a penguin mysteriously delivered to their door every day for a year. At first they’re cute, but with every passing day, the penguins pile up—along with the family’s problems. Feeding, cleaning, and housing the penguins becomes a monumental task. They’re noisy and smelly, and they always hog the bathroom! And who on earth is sending these kwak-ing critters? Bright, striking illustrations with lots of opportunity for counting (and lots of laughs), 365 Penguins has become a perennial wintertime favorite.
Beautiful, full-color photographs and an engaging first-person narrative introduce young readers to an Adelie penguin family's first view of the harsh, wild Antarctic environment.
An illustrated introduction to those wonderful waddling water birds!Living only in the southern hemisphere, there are seventeen different kinds of penguins. With bright watercolor illustrations and kid-friendly language, Gail Gibbons introduces these black and white birds, describing where and how they live, what they eat, and how they hatch their young. An exploration of the egg-laying and chick-raising habits of the emperor penguin is also included, describing how these large penguins take care of their babies in extremely cold temperatures, working together to look after one large egg at a time. Readers will also learn about threats to penguin populations, and what conservation efforts have been made to help preserve them. A collection of penguin facts is also included.
Where Do Penguins Live
Grab a set of these plastic penguins and a map and see how many penguin climates you can find with your child.
Help your child locate where each penguin lives on the map.
To take the lesson even deeper run a red string across the equator to help them understand the difference between the Northern and Southern Hemisphere as they place the penguins in their spots.
Here are the 18 recognized species of penguins and where you can find them.
- Galápagos – Galapagos Islands
- Humboldt- Coasts of Chili and Peru
- Southern Rockhopper -Southern Chili and Southern Argentina
- Northern Rockhopper-Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island – South Atlantic Ocean
- Emperor -Antarctica
- Adélie-Antarctica
- Chinstrap-Antarctic Peninsula
- Fiordland-Southwest coasts of the South Island in New Zealand.
- Snares- Snares Islands south of New Zealand
- Macaroni-Antarctic Peninsula
- Gentoo -Antarctic Peninsula
- Erect-Crested-New Zealand sub-antarctic- mostly Antipodes and Bounty Islands
- Royal-Macquarie Island, near Bishop and Clerk Islands in Australia
- African-Southwest coast of Africa- Namibia to Port Elizabeth
- Little- Australia and New Zealand
- Yellow-Eyed-New Zealand
- King- Antarctic Peninsula
- Magellanic- Southern coasts-Argentina, Chile, and Falkland Islands.
Even if you don’t have replicas of all the different types of penguins you can still enjoy placing them around the map to find their locations.
5 More Hands-on Penguin Activities
If you want to continue the fun here are a few more great ideas for hands-on penguin-related projects that will help your child learn more about these unique creatures while feeling like they are just playing.
- Follow these steps for How to Make an Easy Antarctica Diorama With Your Kids and highlight the two species that make their home in the Antarctica mainland.
- These Quick and Easy Frozen Banana Penguins are just too cute and make a healthy delicious snack to partner with your mini unit.
- How fun is this SALT AND ICE EXPERIMENT FOR KIDS: SAVE THE FROZEN PENGUINS for a simple STEM activity.
- Create this Easy Penguin Sensory Bin and switch it up from ice to warm climate penguins by using different base materials.
Grab this free Printable for the Life Cycle of a Penguin to learn about how an egg turns into a fuzzy chick and then becomes one of the adult penguins we know and recognize.
How to Make an Egg Carton Bobblehead Penguin Preschool Craft
You will need:
- Cardboard egg carton
- Black craft paint
- White craft paint
- Pipe cleaner
- Scissors
- Google eyes
- yellow craft foam
- Hot glue.
The first thing you want to do is cut out 2 cups from a cardboard egg carton, preserving as much of the material as you can.
You can use scissors or a small straight-edged knife.
From the flat or slightly curved portion of the box cut out two small wings.
Paint both cups as well as your small wings black, leaving a small area in the front of both for white. Set aside to dry.
When you’re waiting for your paint to dry, you can cut out a beak and two little feet shapes from craft foam or use another scrap of cardboard from the egg carton.
Coil ½ of a pipe cleaner around a pen or paintbrush to create a spring.
When the paint is dry hot glue the “spring” inside the penguin’s head.
Hot glue the other end of the spring onto the top of the other egg carton cup. And press down holding in place until the glue sets.
Glue the feet so they are peeking out from the bottom.
Then add Googly eyes, beak, and wings to finish off your little penguin.
How fun is that little wobbly head?
