Penguin Lesson Plan for Preschool and Homeschool

Preschool students think penguins are adorable and fun. Take advantage of their fascination with these snow loving birds with this penguin themed lesson plan. This lesson plan is appropriate for all preschool classroom settings: small group, large group, and homeschool.

Penguin Movement

Talk about the different ways that penguins move: waddling, swimming, and sliding. Let students act like penguins with this song from EverythingPReschool.com. Sing to the tune of "Have you ever seen a lassie" and substitute waddle and slide for swim in subsequent verses.

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?

Penguin Habitat

Fill a water table or a shallow plastic container with snow (artificial snow can be made by putting ice in a blender) and adding a shallow pool of water. Provide several plastic penguins for students to play with.

Penguin Waddle Walk

Explain that penguins keep their eggs warm by holding their eggs between their legs.Give students a ball, to be the egg, to hold between their legs and have them can cross the lawn without dropping the ball.

Footprint Penguin

Press a child's foot into a non-toxic black ink pad, or paint their foot with black acrylic paint, and press the foot onto white or light blue paper. Add a small orange triangle nose and a pair of google eyes for the face, two black wing shapes on the side, and a white oval for the belly.

Snack Like a Penguin

Explain that penguins live on a diet of fish. For a penguin themed snack, have students mix tuna and mayonnaise (our sour cream) and spread on crackers. Serve goldfish crackers for students who don't like tuna or mayonnaise.

Penguin Picture Books

Share one of the following penguin picture books with your students:
A Penguin Year by S. Bonner
Cinderella Penguin by Janet Perlman
Cuddly Dudley by Jez Alborough
Little Penguin's Tale by Audrey Wood
Penguin Pete and sequels by Marcus Pfister
The Penguins Are Coming! by R. Penney
Tacky the Penguin and sequels by Helen Leister

Penguin Cam

Watch the penguins live at the Central Park Zoo on the Penguin Cam or at the Monterey Bay Aquarium on their Splash Cam. Ask students to describe what the penguinslook like and what they are doing using as many descriptive words as they can.

More Winter Preschool Lesson Plans by this Author:

Advent Wreath Crafts
Bears Lesson Plan
Christmas Crafts
Gingerbread Lesson Plan
Hanukkah Crafts
Reindeer Art Projects
Snow and Ice Lesson Plan
Snowman Lesson Plan
Songs About Snow
Winter Crafts