Penguins and Their Young: Emperor Penguin Hatches an Egg and Adele Penguins

The boys learned about how Emperor Penguins manage to hatch eggs on the ice -the hold them on their feet and cover them with a layer of their fat! They had lots of fun pretending to be penguins hatching eggs. I tied a pillow around their waist and let it hang to their toes. Then they put a large plastic egg on their feet and let the pillow-fat hang over the egg. They found out how hard it is to walk around with an egg on their feet! They waddled just like penguins. The egg then hatched and out came a baby penguin, which we posted next to the Emperor penguin.

Next they were introduced to the Adele penguin, which First Student had drawn for them (life-sized again.) We talked about how the two types of penguins are alike and how they are different.

Source: This lesson is from the Lawrence Hall of Science GEMS guide Penguins And Their Young, for Preschool–1st Grade

Students learn about the emperor penguin, its body structure, its cold home of ice and water, how it keeps warm, what it eats, and how parents care for their young. A life-size poster, included with the guide, invites students to compare their heights and body structures to those of this four-foot tall bird. They experience a penguin’s icy home by playing with cork penguins in a tub of “icebergs” and water. Using paper-bag penguins, children create dramas on a paper-ocean scene. Important math concepts and skills are developed as children pretend to be hungry penguins and “catch” fish crackers in multi-sensory math games. They top off their explorations with ice investigations and tasty ice treats. Throughout the unit, life science, mathematics, and physical science are integrated with language activities.