Preschool Penguin Theme Activities

Below you can find tons of fun and engaging Penguin Activities! Pick and choose the activities for your lesson or download a free copy of our Penguin Preschool Lesson Plan to save you time!

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Penguins Theme Map

Do you need helping planning your Penguin theme? Use the suggested learning objectives and vocabulary ideas found on our Theme Map to help you plan your own Penguin Lessons.

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Free Penguin Preschool Lesson Plan

Sign up below to get a free sample plan that we created using ideas found on this page!

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Penguin Theme Arts & Crafts for Preschoolers

Penguin Tear and Create Art*

Support fine motor development and creative thinking with this fun experience. Invite your preschoolers to tear up white and black paper and then assemble into a penguin shape.

Circle Penguin Craft from Reading Confetti
Cotton Ball Penguin from Glued to My Craft
Black and White Process Art from Meri Cherry
Paper Play Penguin from Childcare lounge
Sparkling Snow Play Dough from EHow
Toilet Paper Tube Penguins from Noah Wild

Invitation to explore black and white from Playing in Prep
Salt tray imaginative play from Picklebums
Penguin Science Experiments from Preschool Powol Packets

Penguin Research Station Dramatic Play*

Let's be Scientists on Antarctica and learn more about the animals that inhabit this continent. Turn the Dramatic Play area into an animal research center this week. Provide materials so that the kids can set up an expedition. Clip Boards, Measuring Tapes, Cameras, and Medical Kits. Scour the Thrift Stores for Animals to add to your space (Don't forget to check with your clients, they may have some for you to borrow this week.

Our friend Theresa Y. shared photos of how she transformed her dramatic play area into a penguin research center, using our FREE Antarctic Penguin Research Center Dramatic Play Set. Take a closer look at her space, and download your free copy here.

Antarctic Dramatic Play

This fun Antarctic Dramatic Play Space was created by community member
Erica P. of Erica's Educare Learning Center.

Icy Dramatic Play

The fabulous dramatic play space was created by Community Member Amy M, of BuggaBee & Me Daycare. She provided a variety of penguins and cold weather dress-up gear.

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Construction and Small World Play

Create an environment for penguins in your Construction Space this week. Add sheets of white felt, and White Blocks (Which can be made by painting them, or wrapping them with paper). Since Penguins can also be found in warm weather area add additional construction items that might represent both cold weather and warm weather (sandy & rocky) areas.

Penguin Habitat Small World Play*

The following small world  "Penguin Habitat" was designed by
community member Kathleen M, of Little Blue Castle Childcare.

Kathleen created an "Iceberg" by adding printing real photos of penguins on icebergs, and placing them in page protectors and adhering them to a box. She also added shiny blue "Cellophane" paper water, which she taped down with packing tape to create the look of water currents and waves. She also added objects that would resemble snow, ice and icebergs: Cotton balls, Cotton pads, metallic & white cupcake liners, blue milk caps, and a lot of small blue and clear glass gems.

Little Blue Castle Childcare

Source: Little Blue Castle Childcare

Kathleen added a disco ball to represent the Aurora Australia, and blue finger lights to the space, to add  that extra special "Glow".

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Language and Literacy

Penguin Letter Flip and Match*

Support early learners in letter recognition and case matching with this fun matching activity from the Penguins Activity Pack.

Penguin 3-Part Cards

These Penguin 3-Part Cards are a fun way to learn about different penguins. Use these to play memory for a fun literacy activity or in writing activities.

Penguin Early Reading & Writing*

My Penguin Early Reading & Writing Pack is full of literacy fun for preschoolers! Read a rebus story, write a penguin story and more!

Explore My World Penguins by Jill Esbaum
The Emperor's Egg: Read and Wonder by Martin Jenkins and Jane Chapman
Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester and Lynn Munsinger
Little Penguin Gets the Hiccups Board Book by Tadgh Bentley

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Preschool Math Ideas for a Penguin Theme

Penguin Counting Mats

I love how our friend Erica P from Erica's Educare printed our Penguin Ten-Frame Counting Mats on vellum to use on the light table.

Penguin Number Mats

These penguin number mats are an adorable way for preschoolers to work on identifying numbers as a numeral, written word, tallies, and counting up dots.

Penguin Count & Clip*

Count and clip cards are fantastic for developing number identification, counting with one-to-one correspondence, and fine motor skills. Find these adorable penguin themed cards in the Penguin Activity Pack

Penguin Positional Phrases*

This Penguin Cube Positional Phrases activity is a fun way to help preschoolers understand positional phrases (essential for learning to follow directions).

Science and Discovery

Community Member Erica P. of Erica's Educare Learning Center shared this fantastic light table setup! She used reusable ice cubes and colorful penguin counters in this engaging activity.

Learn About How Penguins Care for Their Young

This is a great activity to combine literacy and science. Talk about how some books are used for information and others to tell fun stories, be sure to use the terms Fiction and Non-Fiction.
Use books to learn how penguins care for their young. Make comparisons to other animals and humans.

Label a Penguin

Learn the parts of a penguin and label them on this fun penguin themed mat

Animal Sorting and Classification

Penguins are included in my Animal Sorting and Classification activity pack!
Learn more about penguins to discover what type of feet and skin coverings they have and sort based on where they live.

Feed the Penguin Counting Game*

Support fine motor development while practicing counting skills with this fun Feed the Penguin activity!

Black Play Dough Recipe

Create Penguins with black play dough for some fine motor fun. Find my easy to follow recipe for black play dough here.

Penguin Gross Motor Cards*

There is lot of exercise to be had when pretending to be a penguin! Use these Penguin Action Cards to get in a whole body workout.

Physical Development

Penguin waddle race from Brilliant Beginnings Preschool
Penguin Letter formation from Frugal Fun 4 Boys
5-Little Penguins finger play from Let's Play Kids Music

Penguin Theme Preschool Social Studies Activities

Penguin Venn Diagram

Get preschoolers thinking about the environment they live in and the rest of the world with this Venn diagram included in my Penguins Preschool Activity Pack

Read the Emperors Egg

Read The Emperor's Egg by Martin Jenkins , compare family roles to those of other animals and humans.

Sort and Classify Animals

Support your preschooler in using the information they are learning about Penguins to sort and classify animals based on where they live, the type of feet they have, number of legs, and sound they make using the activities from the Sort & Classify Animals activity pack.

For Educators

Five Little Penguins Circle Time Rhyme

This rhyme and printable penguin props are included in my Winter Circle Time Rhymes Pack. This is a fun way to bring penguins in to your circle time activities.

Penguin Preschool Activity Pack

$7.00

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Penguin Early Reading and Writing Pack

$3.00

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Penguin Research Station Dramatic Play Pack

$0.00

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