Can you guess what our theme for Explorastory was this week? Here’s a clue. What’s black and white and red all over?…. A penguin with a sunburn! (Thank you! Thank you! I’m here all week.) That’s right, this week’s Explorastory highlighted our favorite flightless birds. Let’s take a look at some of the great books we read, poems we recited, and tunes we got down to.
Books
Tacky the penguin is not like his fellow penguins. He’s what you’d call…. odd. But when hunters come looking for perfect penguins to lock up and sell, Tacky’s differentness might be just what his flock needs to stay safe.
In “Penguin” by Polly Dunbar, Ben is overjoyed to receive his very own penguin as a birthday gift. However, his delight quickly turns sour when, despite his best efforts, Penguin simply will not respond. How far will Ben go before learning that true friendship has a language all its own?
We finished with the story, “If You Were a Penguin” by Wendell and Florence Minor. Through this book’s large, colorful illustrations and rhyming text we learned some cool new facts about penguins and that we may be more similar than we thought.
Songs and Fingerplays
Of course, we can’t forget the activities we did in between stories. Today, we boogied down to a fun tune called “Penguin With a Funky Shoe” and used our fingers to count the members of a penguin family. We also listened to a fun poem about how neat these tuxedo’d birds are. Here’s a copy just for you!
In Praise of Penguins
These funny birds in fancy clothes
may waddle in the snow,
but when they reach the icy sea
just watch how fast they go!
Their song sounds like a donkey’s bray,
they cannot soar or fly,
yet penguins manage very well,
and let me tell you why…
Their feathers keep out water,
their blubber keeps out cold,
their wings make perfect paddles
because they do not fold!
Their tails are good for steering,
they brake with both their feet—
So tell me now, from all you’ve heard…
Aren’t penguins NEAT?
by Robin Bernard
Craft
And, as always, we finished with a craft. In keeping with our theme, we made paper cup penguin pals to keep us company in our polar vortex. Let’s take a looksie!
See ya next time!
