Penguins!

Happy Monday!  We began to learn about penguins today.  For our arrival activity in the morning, we watched web cams of penguins at aquariums and zoos on the SMART Board.  Then we drew our observations of the penguins and what they look like in our journals.  There was a lot of talk about different penguin body parts, such as flippers and beaks.

 

In the afternoon, the internet was not working so we just drew in our journals.  However, you can visit some of the penguin web cams that we watched by clicking the links below!  You may even be able to catch feeding time or some penguins swimming in the water!

Monterey Bay Aquarium Penguin Cam

California Academy of Sciences Penguin Cam

Everybody was excited to welcome a new friend to our afternoon class!  We have been waiting excitedly for his first day and are glad that the waiting is finally over!  Welcome to our classroom, Drake!

During playtime, we helped Miss McCabe collect snow to put in the sensory table for our toy penguins!  Brrr!  The snow was cold so we had to wear our mittens or gloves while playing in the sensory table!  We loved watching the snow melt!  Many of us had very wet mittens and gloves by the end of the day!

 

 

 

 

During circle time, we learned that not all penguins live in Antarctica where it is cold!  Did you know that some penguins also live where it is warm, such as on the beach in Australia?!  Miss McCabe spent some time teaching in Australia and she got to see the smallest penguin in the world living on the beach in Australia!  She introduced us to her puppet friend, Pete the Penguin, who came all the way from Australia!

We also learned that the biggest penguin in the world is the Emperor penguin!

Then we read the story Five Little Penguins Slipping on the Ice.  It was kind of like "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed."  Ms. Palmer came and we used penguin puppets to act out the story.  It was so much fun!

We also learned a fun rhyme and practiced number identification on the SMART Board while reciting it!  In the rhyme, the penguins are teasing the leopard seal who quietly sneaks up and snaps a penguin out of the ocean.  We LOVED this rhyme and kept asking to do it again!

During centers, we reviewed shapes while making a shape penguin.  Miss Sue from the office came in to help make the shape penguins for a little while.

 

Some children worked on counting and number recognition activities with Miss McCabe.  We also visited independent centers.

 

 

 

We met our new feely phonic friend, apple a, today and learned many different words that start with the letter a.  This letter is a tricky letter because it makes two different sounds!

Then we read a penguin alphabet book too!  We learned all sorts of new vocabulary, such as preen and nuzzle.

Tomorrow will be another exciting day full of more penguin fun!  Have a great evening! :)