Paper Penguins

We are studying polar animals this week. (Yay!) Today we talked about penguins, but we mostly learned about Emperor Penguins. For the craft, the kids made it all by themselves. They drew the shapes (mostly ovals and triangles), cut them out and glued them together. We did this as a big group and went through the steps together. Each child had:
1/2 sheet black paper (body)
1/2 sheet black paper folded in half (wings/flippers)
1/4 sheet white paper (belly)
1/4 sheet orange paper folded in half (beak and feet)
white crayon
pencil
glue stick
kid scissors

So first they drew an oval on the 1/2 sheet of black paper and cut it out. Then they drew a smaller oval on the folded piece of black paper. When they cut that out, they had two. (Most of them were actually surprised they had two!)

Then they used the pencil to draw an oval on the white sheet of paper. I reminded them it had to fit inside their first black oval. Then to make the beak, I showed them how cutting a triangle from the folded side would result in a beak that opens and closes. They thought that was so cool. They also could make circles or triangles for feet, or really whatever shape they wanted.

Then they glued all the pieces together and added wiggle eyes. I displayed them on white paper cut to look like ice and titled it, Just Chillin'.

I love how unique each one is! Some kids even added eggs to the feet!!

Adorable, right?

Fun Fact: At about 4 feet tall, the Emperor Penguin is the largest species of penguin.