Penguins!

Weeks ago, I did a penguin storytime for the kids. I just got a little behind on posting my summaries because my library has been closed for the past three Fridays (typically when I have time to write up my summaries). Anyway, here it is!

I started off storytime with “Playful Little Penguins” by Tony Mitton.

A rhyming story with bright pictures, this was a great book to start off with. Mitton’s penguins are cute and expressive — the kids were really able to follow the story easily. Next up, “If You Were a Penguin” by Wendell & Florence Minor.

This was a great switch into realistic looking penguins — and the text is nice and short for a quick read before our first extension activity:

Action Song & Puppet: “Did You Ever See a Penguin?”
Did you ever see a penguin, a penguin, a penguin?
Did you ever see a penguin waddle this way and that?
Waddle this way and that way, waddle this way and that way
Did you ever see a penguin waddle this way and that?
Credit: Childhood

I paired our song with a really cute penguin puppet, and had the kids hold up their make-believe penguins with me. Next, I found a version of our session song — “I’m a Little Teapot” — with an arctic twist.

Action Song: “I’m A Little Penguin”
I’m a Little Penguin
In the sea.
I can swim as fast as can be!
When I catch a fish, just look at me.
I’m as proud as I can be.
Credit: Step by Step — Penguin Theme

After the kids sat down again, I pulled out “I Like It When…” by Mary Murphy.

This turned out to be a super quiet read, and some of the kids wound up laying down during the book. That led me straight into our flannelboard this week, which turned out to be a big hit!

Flannelboard Song: “Penguin Went Over the Iceberg”
The penguin went over the iceberg,
The penguin went over the iceberg,
The penguin went over the iceberg,
To see what he could see,
To see what he could see,
The penguin went over the iceberg,
The penguin went over the iceberg,
The penguin went over the iceberg
To see what he could see.
The other side of the iceberg,
The other side of the iceberg,
The other side of the iceberg,
Was all that he could see,
Was all that he could see,
The other side of the iceberg,
The other side of the iceberg,
The other side of the iceberg,
Was all that he could see.
Credit: The Best Kids Book Site

The kids could not get enough of the penguin, and I sang this song three times.

Lastly, “10 Little Penguins” by Jean-Luc Fromental.

This is a very small pop-up book. I thought that it might be a big problem because of its size — but the kids were okay as I panned back and forth. The only problem with the book was that I had one little boy who kept trying to help me move the penguins around. I had to repeatedly tell him to sit down, but because of the size of the book I couldn’t hold it any higher to get him away! Last fingerplay before craft:

Fingerplay: “Two Little Penguins”
Two little penguins sitting on the ice (hold up two fingers)
One bows once, the other bows twice (made index fingers bow)
Waddle little penguins. Waddle away. (put fingers behind back)
Come back penguins. Time to play! (bring fingers to the front)
Credit: King County Library System

And the most adorable craft ever – penguin puppet.

This is another one from KidsSoup. Teen volunteers cut everything out, and pre-glued the puppet down so that the kids could immediately slip their hands into their puppets. Super cute craft.