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Celebrating World Penguin Day with Preschoolers

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World Penguin Day is celebrated on April 25^th to recognize one of the most unique birds on the planet and encourage people to learn more about them, their environment, their importance to our ecosystem, and the threats they face that could lead to extinction.

This celebration began when researchers noticed that Adélie penguins began migrating from their native Antarctica to the Galápagos Islands around this day each year, where they breed.    

I think these birds need protection, and it is one of the things we have to teach our kids so they can become advocates and defenders in the future. To help you with this and celebrate World Penguin Day with your preschoolers, I put together a pack for you. You can find your FREE 31-page World Penguin Day Science pack, which includes facts and real pictures of 9 of my favorite penguins, vocabulary words, and name match activities, ready to be downloaded at the end of this post.

Why Is It Important to Create Awareness About Penguins?

Like many other species around the world, penguins are in danger.  Of the 18 species of penguins or so that exist today, 10 are considered endangered or vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and 3 are considered near threatened.  That’s terrifying!!!

Why?  Because penguins spend most of their lives at sea looking for food, overfishing, climate change, and ocean contamination from human pollution have contributed to the decline of entire populations, which in turn harms the ecosystem.

Penguins, especially around Antarctica and on the Southern Ocean islands, are important players in the balance of the ecosystem for different reasons:

• They control the populations of small fish and crustaceans in their hunting grounds, which could otherwise overgraze on algae and plankton, two important food sources for other species.
• Penguins are also an important food source for many animals, both inland and on the water.  Adults and young penguins, and even their eggs, serve as food for leopard seals, Orcas, seabirds, foxes, cats, mongooses, and other animals.
• Another important contribution is that they fertilize the landscape with their guano (feces), providing important plant nutrients such as organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus.

General Facts About Penguins

These incredible birds are similar in some ways but different in others.  These are some of the general facts about penguins:

• Penguins are birds, but they cannot fly in the air.
• They have waterproof feathers.
• Their eyes have a special lens that protects them underwater.
• Penguins can recognize each other’s calls among a large group of penguins.  They make different sounds often described as honks.
• Their unique tongue is covered with spines, which help them catch and hold onto their prey.
• Penguins are carnivores and mostly eat krill, fish, shellfish, and squid.
• Penguins can live on land and in the water.
• They use their wings as flippers and fly through the water very fast.
• Penguins are very sociable birds, and they live in large groups.
• On land, a group of penguins is called a colony. In the water, a group of penguins is called a raft.
• All penguins are black and white, which helps them camouflage and protect themselves from predators.
• All penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere, but depending on the species, they live in Antarctica, on rocky coastlines, or in desert regions.
• Most penguins have the same partner all their adult lives.
• Penguins raise their babies together. They take turns incubating the eggs and feeding.  When the chicks hatch, they also take turns keeping them warm and feeding them by regurgitating food.
• Penguins usually lay two eggs, called a clutch. Some only lay one egg.
• They build their nests from guano, or penguin feces.  It maintains a good temperature and protects their eggs and babies from predators.
• In water, their main predators are seals and Orcas.  On land, other aquatic birds, felines, and other carnivores hunt them.

Types of Penguins

There are 18 different species of penguins; two live in Antarctica, and the rest live on the subantarctic islands of every continent in the Southern Hemisphere. These species are named Adélie penguin, African penguin, Chinstrap penguin, Emperor penguin, Erect-crested penguin, Fiordland penguin, Galapagos penguin, Gentoo penguin, Humboldt penguin, King penguin, Little penguin, Macaroni penguin, Magellanic penguin, Northern Rockhopper penguin, Royal penguin, Southern Rockhopper penguin, Snares penguin, and Yellow-eyed penguin. These are my favorites:

Adélie Penguin

The Adélie is the smallest penguin species in the Antarctic. They have a black back and head, a white chest and belly, and white rings around the eyes.  They are very fast in the water, can dive for food, and hold their breath for up to six minutes. Males use small rocks, rolling them back or picking them up with their beaks.  They come back to the same nest sites every year and can live 15 to 20 years.  Studies show they use the sun to navigate from land to sea.

African penguins

African penguins have a loud donkey-like bray.  Adults have a black stripe and black spots on their chests, a pattern unique to each penguin, like human fingerprints. They have pink glands above their eyes to regulate heat. The female lays a clutch of two eggs in burrows dug in guano or scrapes in the sand under boulders or bushes. Both parents incubate the eggs.  They live around 10 to 27 years in the wild, and up to 30 in captivity. The African penguin is listed as endangered and is expected to be extinct within 15 years.

Chinstrap Penguins

Chinstrap penguins get their name from the narrow black band under their head that looks like a black helmet.   Some penguins are born very pale and are called ‘Blonde’ penguins.  They are the boldest penguins of all.  They can swim in freezing waters because of their waterproof coat and can dive for about 20 to 30 seconds.  They build their circular nests on land using stones and lay two eggs.  Both parents incubate the eggs, and the chicks hatch with fluffy gray backs and white fronts.  There are more Chinstrap penguins than any other penguins in the world.

Emperor Penguins

Emperors are the largest of all the penguins.  They’re the deepest diving birds and can swim underwater for up to 22 minutes.  Emperors migrate up to 75 miles inland across the ice to the colony.  They can live up to 20 years in the wild and 50 years in captivity.  They are only found in Antarctica.  They are the only penguin species to live and breed on the open ice in winter.  The female lays one egg and carefully passes it to the male, who keeps it warm through the winter (more than two months) in the pouch on top of his feet and doesn’t eat. Emperor penguins are near threatened because global warming is affecting their breeding grounds and overfishing is limiting their food supply.

Gentoo penguins

Gentoo penguins are the third-largest type of penguin.  They have a yellowish-red beak, a black head with white marks above each eye, pale whitish-pink webbed feet, and the longest tail of all penguins.  Chicks have grey backs with white fronts. They are the fastest underwater swimmers and can also lie on their stomachs and glide on the ice.   They can live about 15 to 20 years in the wild.  Gentoo penguins are very social and live in groups, called colonies.  They prefer to breed inland and build their nest between tufts of grass. Nests are usually made from a roughly circular pile of stones and can be quite large. The female lays two eggs, and both parents alternate daily to incubate them.  The Gentoo is listed as the least concerned, but in Bird Island, South Georgia, the population has declined by two-thirds in the last 25 years.

Humboldt Penguins

The Humboldt penguins were named after the Humboldt Current.  They are fast swimmers and can dive up to 500 feet underwater to search for food.  Their feet and head can blush to avoid overheating.  They mate for life, and both parents care for the chicks.  They live in arid areas and often build their nests under cacti, using guano as nesting material.  The Humboldt penguin is at risk of extinction because of habitat destruction, guano harvesting for fertilizer, insufficient food from overfishing, and climate change.

King Penguins

The King penguin is the second-largest penguin.  They are good swimmers and divers.  King penguins have orange spots near their ears and on their neck.  They only have one mate a year, but they don’t mate for life.  They don’t build nests.  Female penguins lay only one pear-shaped soft egg that hardens and darkens later. The egg is sheltered and incubated on their parents’ feet.  Their chicks have fuzzy brown feathers for about a year after they are born.  Some populations of King penguins appear to have suffered a massive decline due to climate change and a lack of food sources caused by large-scale commercial fishing. 

Magellanic Penguins

Magellanic Penguins are medium-sized penguins.  They are black and white, with a broad crescent-shaped line of white feathers that go from above each eye to the chin, and a horseshoe-shaped band of black feathers that cut across the white feathers on the chest and abdomen.  Chicks are brown with a white face and underside, and juveniles are brown and white with only one white band.  They have waterproof paddle-shaped wings.  They have a pink area above the eyes and at the base of the beak that helps regulate body temperature, and special glands near their eyes that help them excrete excess salt from swallowing large amounts of ocean water.  They are loud and could be dangerous to humans.  They are excellent long-distance swimmers and great divers, and can stay submerged for up to 2 minutes.  Magellanic Penguins are social creatures as they prefer to live in flocks.  They mate for life.  Females lay two eggs in burrows, and both parents take turns incubating them.  This species is considered Near Threatened and on the verge of becoming endangered due to overfishing, oil spills, habitat destruction, and pollution.

Southern Rockhopper Penguins

Southern Rockhopper penguins are one of the smaller penguin species.  They have a white belly, and the rest of their body is black. They have red eyes and pink webbed feet, and the adults also have yellow and black spiky feathers on their heads. Their beak is initially black but turns orange as the penguins get older. Since they live in a rocky environment, they cannot slide on their bellies like most penguins, so they have to hop to get from one place to another.  They are great swimmers and can dive up to 330 feet for many minutes at a time.  Females lay two eggs a few days apart and use the same nest every year. This species is one of the world’s most numerous, but the population has dropped almost 90%, mostly due to commercial overfishing, oil spills, and pollution.

Celebrating World Penguin Day With Preschoolers

World Penguin Day is the perfect opportunity to teach your children more about these fascinating creatures. Some of the things you can do are:

Present Documentaries

It is great to read stories about the different species of penguins that exist in the world to your children and share some facts about them.  But when you show videos to young children, they can see these animals in action and better understand what you are trying to teach them.  Two of my favorite documentaries are The March of the Penguins, which follows the Emperor penguins in Antarctica.

Play Games

I found two great games you can play with your children.  These are:

• Welcome to Mommyhood Penguin matching game to practice shapes and colors.
• From ABCs to ACTs Penguin ABCs is an alphabet game and cutting practice activity.

Do Penguin Crafts

I found some fantastic crafts that I would like to share with you.  These are:

• Cotton Ball Penguin by Glued to My Crafts.  She provides a free penguin template, and your children just need some cotton balls, construction paper, and glue to complete it.

• This Popsicle Stick Penguin from Crafty Morning is a little more difficult but not impossible for preschoolers, and it only requires popsicle sticks, some paint, and construction paper.

• A great way to recycle materials is by using paper rolls to make a penguin.  Easy Peasy and Fun show you how.

Serve Penguin Snacks

Since penguins love to fish, Goldfish crackers come to mind as an excellent snack, but I found some others that are really cute:

• Penguin-shaped snack from Fantastic Fun and Learning uses crackers, black olives, cream cheese, and carrot pieces to shape a penguin.  Show your children a sample and let them make their own penguin; it is a fantastic fine motor activity.

• Momma Told Me offers you a sweet Banana Penguin snack using bananas, chocolate, M&Ms, and candy.  Cute, healthy, and a snack that your preschoolers can put together.

Other Activities

• Have a race waddling like penguins.
• Create a campaign inviting your families to adopt a penguin through the International Penguin Conservation Group.  It only costs $59.00 a year, but it will make a huge difference in preserving these incredible animals.
• Invite an expert to come to the classroom and talk to your children about penguins and what we can do to help protect them.

Penguin-related Books

Reading to your children about penguins is one of the best educational activities you can do to teach your kiddos about anything.

Many books cover penguins, both fiction and non-fiction.  You can find books about these great birds at your local library, used bookstore, and on Amazon.  I love Amazon because you can get anything fast, and I love constantly adding books to my collection.  These are my favorite penguin books.  I added my Amazon links to make it easier for you to click the titles.

• Hello, Penguin! by Kathryn M. Williams.  A National Geographic book that introduces children to penguins from around the world, with vocabulary organized into concept groups to help them make connections between words and expand their understanding of the world.

• Penguin Facts for Kids by Boris Walker. A vibrant and easy-to-read book packed with real science, eye-catching images, and fun facts, offering a perfect blend of education and entertainment.

• Explore My World:  Penguins by Jill Esbaum. This engaging book helps kids understand the world around them and learn about the delightful world of penguins: the extreme lengths they go to care for their young and the relationship between baby penguins and their parents.

• If You Were a Penguin by Florence Minor. With simple, rhyming text and gorgeous, detailed illustrations, it invites children to imagine what life as a penguin is like and offers fun facts about penguins.

• Penguin Misses Mom by Michael Dahl. This sweet board book demonstrates that missing Mom can be hard, but children will delight in the happy ending.

• Five Little Penguins by Lily Murray. This is a cute and fun counting book.

• Penguin Sets Sail by Jessica Linn Evans. This lovable wordless picture book is about friendship, home, and the high seas.

• How Do Penguins Play? by Diane Muldrow. This playful rhyme uses adorable pastel illustrations to show animals playing.

Pin It For Later

If you are in a rush and don’t have time to read the post and download the printable but want to save it for later, pin it to one of your Pinterest boards.

I hope you enjoy these ideas and that they help you have fun celebrating World Penguin Day with your preschoolers.  To get the FREE pack, click the link below and enter your information to download it immediately.

Be happy, safe, and creative. I wish you well.

Love,

P.S. Please let me know if any of these ideas work for you, or if you think I should add or replace something.  My goal is to help you in any way I can, and I don’t like anything better than posting something you might find useful. Also, if you come up with different ideas and want to share them, I would love to post them as well.

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