Dramatic Play
It was more of a sensory play this time around, as I brought in the sensory table and filled it with penguins and "insta-snow." I left the snow a powder the first day, so the kids could watch me add water to watch the snow grow. They love this stuff and almost all 9 were crowded around this table the whole first day.
The second week, after we had learned about the difference between Antarctic and Arctic animals, I added another sensory table with water beads and polar animals from the North Pole. They loved this too and this tiny table was busy and crowded all week!
Art
Feather painting, white paint on black paper, with feathers as brushes. They also liked using them as quills to try to write.
"snow paint" shaving cream, white glue, and glitter
Epsom salt painting. I didn't get any pics, but they painted with a water/epsom salt mixture on dark paper, and once it dries, it leaves the sparkly salt crystals behind.
Small Manipulatives
Numbers and counters on the magnet board
Puzzles
Building link things (no idea what they're called!)
Large Group
We learned the song, Penguins on Parade, which I own on a cassette tape, so it's a little dated! They love it though, because we get to wear penguin masks and march/waddle like penguins around the room as we sing.
We learned the word, Antarctica and found it on our map and globe.
Day 1, after reading about penguins, we learned about the difference between animals at the North Pole (Arctic) and South Pole (Antarctic) and sorted our animal toys by where they live.
Day 2, we read a book about Emperor Penguins, and learned that the father penguins carry the eggs after the moms lay them and pass them to them. So, we practiced balancing "penguin eggs" on our feet, by using beanbags. The children had to walk a few feet to their partner without dropping their eggs, then pass it to the partner, who then got a turn to walk balancing the egg. I don't think any of our poor eggs would have survived on the ice, but as one of the kids pointed out, I think penguin feet are made to balance eggs, and ours aren't!
Day 3, we learned about how penguins stay warm in the cold. We read that they have oil on their feathers that makes the water run off of them. We did a simple experiment, combining oil and water, and learned that they don't mix. So, feathers covered in oil, would repel water instead of soaking it in. Then, we tried to fit 9 feathers into a 1 cm squared box on a piece of playdough. They were very crowded, and we learned that penguins have 9 feathers in every square centimeter on their bodies, so having so many feathers also helps keep them warm.
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