This week we dove into learning about penguins!! We started by asking the students what they knew about penguins. We showed pictures of all the different species of penguins and talked about the ones we see at our St. Louis Zoo. We enhanced our learning by watching some videos and reading some books with real facts about penguins. We began the week by reading, If You Were A Penguin. We then wrote in our journals about what we would do if we were a penguin. We also had fun adding penguins, blocks and stones in our play-doh! Our sensory table contained blue water, styrofoam icebergs, pipettes and little penguins. In addition, the hippos used penguins with a variety of different blocks, playdoh, shaving cream and kinetic sand. (fine/gross motor, taking turns, respectful behaviors, sensory, answering questions, drawing representational pictures)
The hippos played The All Gone Game in which they rolled a dice and ate that many fish from the penguins belly. This game worked on meaningful counting. We also went fishing on the carpet, practiced positional concepts using penguins and pretend ice blocks and sequenced the life of a penguin. The students signed in by choosing which penguin they liked then counting and comparing the numbers. We also played an ABC penguin letter find. In addition, the students cut out a penguin, glued the eyes, nose and feet, then painted the belly white. (cutting, fine motor, following 2 step directions, sequencing, comparing numbers, making decisions independently)
During group time we discussed how the penguins stay warm in the cold temperatures. One way is by huddling close together. We watched a video of real penguins huddling to stay warm. Another way penguins stay warm is due to the fact they have blubber. To show this, we had each child put one hand in ice cold water. We then had them put their other hand in a blubber mitt (made with shortening and plastic bags). The children discovered theirs hands stayed warm in the blubber when inserted in cold water.
During our gym time, we pretended to be penguins by waddling, flapping, swimming, jumping and belly sliding. We then huddled like penguins do when it gets really cold! It was fun to be a penguin and toboggan by laying on scooters and moving them around our igloo arch. (gross motor)
Our letter of the week was letter R for Roman, Reece and Reddy. Our 2nd Steps lesson worked on fair ways to play when 2 students want to play with the same toy. We learned we can take turns, play together or make a trade.
Books Read
Penguins Love Counting. Let's Make A Snowman.
If You Were A Penguin
Grumpy Penguin
Where is Home Pip?
Videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8qilxaBR20 All About Penguins for Kids
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0u67Wk_hJ0&feature=emb_rel_end Baby Emperor Penguins emerge from their shell
Emperor Penguins Huddle for Warmth
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00l4gdz It is about a penguin getting rocks for his nest and when he turns away another penguin takes the rocks and uses it for his nest.
I am sure the kids would love to see these videos again.
Song- (I'm a little teapot tune)
I'm a little penguin
white and black.
White on the front,
black on the back.
Look how I can waddle
as I go by.
I am a bird
but I can't fly.
Questions to Ask
1. Do penguins fly? (no)
2. What do penguins do to stay warm? (huddle)
3. What do penguins eat? (fish)
4. Baby penguins hatch from an....(egg)
5. Does mom or dad penguin keep the baby warm? (dad)
6. What do you like about penguins?
Next Week
Construction
Reminders
***Please send in a shoe box Thursday, January 29th to collect your child's valentines
***Send Valentines in by Monday, February 9th to school. Please sign your child's name on each card. Please do NOT write who it is going to. This will help tremendously when passing out the cards to others. Also, please do not send food with your valentine cards.
***Friendship Party is Thursday, February 12th at 11:00 in the Hippo room, all are welcome
***No School, Monday, February 16th- Presidents Day
***Passport Day, March 7th
Enjoy the pictures!!
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| Everyone loved balancing these penguins on the iceberg. |
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| Penguins and ice blocks |
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| Making homes for the penguins. |
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| Penguins and kinetic sand. |
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| We will bring home this book about penguins next week for you to read with your child. The students dictated to me what they knew about penguins on the last page of the book. |
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| ABC letter find. |
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| Show and Tell |
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| We huddled like penguins. |
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| Each child had a turn feeling the water with their hand and using the blubber mitt to feel the water with their other hand. |
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| Art Fun! |
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| Belly sliding. |
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| Show and Tell |
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| Show and Tell |
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| We recognized the number on the dice, placed that many fish on the penguin, then ate them. |
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| Here we counted the penguins and matched them to the correct number. |
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| Fishing on the carpet since penguins love fish. |
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| We were polar bears during music class. |
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| We made snowflakes out of cookie cutters as our backdrop for our bulletin board in the hallway. |
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| After cutting and gluing together our penguins, we then painted the belly white. |
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| We practiced positional concepts during group time using penguins and ice blocks. |
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| We tobogganed like penguins around our arch. |
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| We sequenced how to build a snowman. |
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| Everyone loved shaving cream and penguins. |
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| We tried to balance penguins and snowflakes on the icebergs. |
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| We looked at pictures of penguins in our view finder. |
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| Journal-What would you do if you were a penguin? |
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| We practiced making the letter B using small blackboards. |
