Penguin Ice Flow Counting Game
One of my favorite Polar Animals are Penguins – there is just something about these cute little non-flying birds that grabs my interest and my children are the same. So when we were planning themes for January and February for the Virtual Book Club for Kids Penguins had to be featured. The featured book Penguin and Pinecone by Salina Yoon is such a wonderful story of penguins and also kindness perfect for this time of year as well although don’t worry we have some other ideas of Penguin books to share with you just scroll down. To go with this theme a fun Counting Game that children can make themselves. So here it is our Penguin Counting Game.
Materials Needed for the Penguin Counting Game
Potato
Knife
Black, White, and Orange Paint
Egg Flats or Trays (US Amazon Link / UK Amazon Link)
Another Fun DIY Penguin Game ~ Feed the Penguin Game
Part 1 – Potato Print Penguins
Sometimes the classic activities have the best results and I decided that to involve the children from the start it would be a good idea for them to create their own penguins. So potato print penguins were a perfect choice as they are easy to make and even very young children can make these.
- Take a large oval potato and cut in half.
- Now take one-half and cut a 1cm (1/4″ slice) to make a smaller oval.
- Use the biggest half and print a black oval on the page – as you can see we made multiple copies of this as T wanted to count them out.
- Now leave to dry for a little white
- Using the smaller oval use white paint and print a smaller oval in the middle of the body.
- Put aside to dry
- Now take a small paint brush and some orange paint and create 2 feet and a beak.
- Add two googly eyes and leave to dry.
- Once dry cut out a penguin to use in the game.
Part 2 – Penguin Ice Flow Counting Game
Preparation
Take an Egg Flat and turn it over so you have some icebergs facing up. If you have a colored egg tray then you could paint it white and leave to dry. On the cones, you want to number these using your sharpie marker.
I used number 1 – 10 however, you can focus on numbers 1 – 5 for younger children, or 1 – 20 with older children. Work on what your child knows and a little bit more.
Playing Penguin Ice Flow Counting Game
It’s really easy to do and you have a few different ways to play – first call out a number and the child makes their way to that penguin or get them to move around the ice flows in sequence 1, 2, 3, 4, etc…
Another alternative and I did raid our animal box for some “sharks” and “elephant seals” is to get your child to make their way from one side of the ice flow to the other without meeting a shark or an elephant seal calling out the numbers that they land on as they go.
More Math Games for Toddlers and Preschoolers
Penguin Books for Toddlers and Preschoolers
This week’s featured book for our Penguin Theme is Penguin and Pinecone by Salina Yoon – don’t worry if you can’t find it there is a fantastic reading of the book on YouTube which I have included below.
However, if you want to add more Penguin books to your book basket this week here are 4 others that we love reading.
Tacky Penguin by Helen Lester
Penguins! by Gail Gibbons
Little Penguin: The Emperor of the Antarctic by Jonathon London
and
A Mother’s Journey by Sandra Markle
Even More Penguin Activities
Each week we share the cohosts ideas for learning based on the week’s theme. You can find even more inspiration within the Virtual Book Club for Kids Facebook Group as well as further book lists and other book based inspiration and activities.
Check out these Toddler and Preschool Ideas for Penguin Themed activities
Penguin Themed Literacy Ideas
Sight Word Spin Read and Colour from Sea of Knowledge
Penguin Themed Maths Ideas
Penguin Ice Flow Game – you are here!
Penguin Themed Sensory and Play
How to make a Penguin Sensory Bin from Mama Smiles
Penguin Sensory Bin from Clare’s Little Tots
Penguin Themed Art and Craft Activities
Penguin Painting from My Storytime Corner
Pinecone Penguin Craft from To be a Kid Again
Penguin Painting for Toddlers from Inspiration Laboratories
Penguin Motor Skills
Penguin Action Song and Gross Motor Activity from J Daniel4’s Mom
More Penguin Themed Activities
Pin this Penguin Counting Game to Make and Play Later
Share this Maths Game with others on Facebook
The penguins turned out so sweet. I imagine making a few more for some sweet cards this month too.
Those potato print penguins are just SO cute. And what a clever way to learn with them. We have egg cartons saved so we have to do this!
I love your penguins, and this is such a fun way to practice counting!