I always look forward to the Kindergarten unit on penguins. I especially enjoy using penguin webcams in the library so that we can watch them in action.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium web cam is turned on from 7 am to 5 pm Pacific time each day, and shows the rocky habitat of their African blackfooted penguin exhibit. (If you tune in at other times it won’t be live; you will see highlight videos playing instead.)
The Sea World (Orlando) webcam page offers a choice of three different views of their penguin habitat: above ground, shallow underwater, and deep underwater. You can also use their camera tool to take a picture of the penguins and share it via Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, email, or one of several other options. I shared one of our photos to my Book-Based Activities Pinterest Board.
After spending a few minutes watching the penguins, taking pictures of them, and discussing the penguin facts they’ve learned, I read the book Penguins by Liz Pichon. This is the perfect book to follow up our webcam viewing because in it (as the cover hints) a group of zoo penguins discovers a camera one of the visitors dropped. They have a wonderful time taking pictures with it (“Say FISH!”) until a zookeeper discovers it the next day and takes it to the Lost and Found. Once re-claimed, the owner discovers some very puzzling and unusual photos!
Although the book is a bit anachronistic (the extra photos are discovered when the pictures are developed) the kids love the surprise at the end: a foldout of the snapshots the penguins took of themselves! I just substitute the word “printed” for the word “developed” and the kids are none the wiser.
I also like to play the song “Rock Hopper Penguin” from the CD Fins And Grins by Johnette Downing. It’s a great uptempo song that we can dance to – and when I say “dance” I basically mean “hop up and down until we’re too worn out to move” – before we check out books. (Click here to listen to a sample.)
My favorite non-fiction penguin books to use with Kindergarten classes are:
About Penguins A Guide for Children by Cathryn Sill
Baby Penguin Slips and Slides by Michael Teitelbaum
Egg to Penguin by Camilla de la Bedoyere
The Life Cycle of a Penguin by Lisa Trumbauer
My favorite penguin picture books to use with Kindergarten classes are:
A Penguin Story by Antoinette Portis
If You Were a Penguin by Florence Minor
Little Penguin’s Tale by Audrey Wood
One Cool Friend by Toni Buzzeo
My Penguin Osbert by Elizabeth Cody Kimmell (which I also wrote about here)
What are your favorite penguin resources for young learners? Please share them in the comments!