If you find yourself huddling together for warmth during the winter months, you've discovered the perfect habitat for a fun penguin storytime! Penguins are a great storytime theme because they are adorable and fascinating animals to learn about, and you'll also discover that penguin books are plentiful. Gather 'round for some fun wintertime stories about this cute creature.
Books
If You Were a Penguin by Wendell and Florence Minor
Penguins, Penguins Everywhere by Bob Barner
Penguin in Love by Salina Yoon
Baby Penguins Everywhere by Melissa Guion
Lead-In
After our usual songs and greetings took place, I got the kids excited for this theme by having them waddle like penguins and flap their "wings." We pretended that it got very cold in the room, then settled down for our first book (If You Were a Penguin, which also happened to be the favorite with this group).
Songs and Rhymes
★ It is Snowing (source)- to the tune of Frere Jacques. Mime the action of putting on each winter accessory as you sing the song.
★ It is Snowing (source)- to the tune of Frere Jacques. Mime the action of putting on each winter accessory as you sing the song.
It is snowing, it is snowing,
On my head, on my head
I will need a hat now,
I will need a hat now,
On my head, on my head
…On my neck… I will need a scarf...
...On my hand… I will need a glove...
…On my foot… I will need a boot...
★ I'm a Little Penguin (source)- Make your arms look like penguin wings, flapping them and waddling as you sing the song.
★ I'm a Little Penguin (source)- Make your arms look like penguin wings, flapping them and waddling as you sing the song.
I'm a little penguin
black and white.
I waddle to the left
and I waddle to the right.
I cannot fly but I can swim,
so I waddle to the water
and jump right in!
Felt Board Activity
I couldn't seem to find the perfect penguin rhyme, so I made up my own for this storytime and it went over very well! The idea was to start with one penguin and use a counting rhyme to keep adding friends until we reached five. I'll include the motions along with the rhyme, because the kids really enjoyed doing them along with me.
Felt Board Activity
I couldn't seem to find the perfect penguin rhyme, so I made up my own for this storytime and it went over very well! The idea was to start with one penguin and use a counting rhyme to keep adding friends until we reached five. I'll include the motions along with the rhyme, because the kids really enjoyed doing them along with me.
★ Five Friendly Penguins
One friendly penguin in the cold, cold ice. (Hug arms close to your body and shiver)
She thought that an extra friend
might be nice. (Tap your head as if you are thinking)
So she looked up high
and she looked down low, (Shade eyes and look up, then down)
And found another penguin
waddling through the snow! (Flap "wings" and waddle)
Two friendly penguins…
Three friendly penguins…
Four friendly penguins...
When we reached five, we celebrated the fact that our first friendly penguin now had four more friends to play with and then counted them all just to make sure we had all our penguins together.
Four friendly penguins...
When we reached five, we celebrated the fact that our first friendly penguin now had four more friends to play with and then counted them all just to make sure we had all our penguins together.
Closure
We finished this storytime by singing songs and handing out penguin coloring sheets for the kids to color at the library or take home for later. We also practiced our waddling and wing flapping again on the way out for good measure.
Additional Resources
Color-by-Penguins by Ed Heck
Penguin's Snowy Day by Salina Yoon
Lost Little Penguin by Tracey Corderoy
Penguins by Liz Pichon
Playful Little Penguins by Tony Mitton
Template for penguin felt pieces
Penguin coloring pages
If you're on the lookout for a fun winter storytime without having to worry about focusing on any specific holiday, waddle into your local library and grab a few books about penguins!
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