Penguin Snack Idea
Raise your hand if you're working on arctic animals during the month of January. If you're a kindergarten or first grade teacher, there's a good chance your hand is up. Last week I shared with you an adorable penguin craft that would fit in perfectly with your unit. I'm back today sharing a super cute penguin snack idea that would be so fun to wrap up your Penguin Activities for Kindergarten unit.
Ingredients You'll Need for the Penguin Snack
- Graham crackers
- Vanilla frosting
- Blue food coloring
- Oreos
- Edible eyes
- Orange tic-tacs
- Goldfish crackers
- Tiny pretzels
- Squeezable frosting
Each student will need:
- 1 Oreo cookie
- 2 edible eyes
- 1 orange tic-tac
- 2 tiny pretzel twists
- 1 graham cracker sheet
- a small about of blue frosting (about 1 tbsp)
- 3 goldfish crackers
- a little bit of white squeezable frosting
Students will also need a paper plate to use as a work surface and something to spread the blue frosting (a spoon, tongue depressor, or plastic knife).
The first step in this penguin snack is to spread the blue frosting on the graham cracker. This is where having a paper plate as a work surface comes in handy.
Once the frosting is spread on the graham cracker, students place the goldfish in the frosting to set. You'll want to tell students to place the goldfish on one side so they can be sure to leave room for the penguin.
Now it's time to get the star of this penguin snack ready!
To make the penguin, students will squeeze a small amount of white frosting in the middle of the Oreo and “glue” on the two eyes and tic-tac nose.
You can add a small dot of white frosting for the belly, if you'd like.
To attach the feet, squeeze out white frosting on the bottom of the Oreo. Attach the pretzels and hold for a minute to let the frosting dry. Then place the Oreo penguin in the “water”.
If the blue frosting has hardened, you can add just a bit more blue frosting on to the top of the graham cracker to help the penguin stick.
For step by step directions on how to make the Penguin Snack, check out this video:
Penguin Read Alouds
Snack time is a great time to incorporate a read aloud. Students are enjoying the snack they made and I find them to be extra attentive. You might choose to do a non-fiction read aloud or read a fun fiction book about penguins. Either way, I'm including a list of some of my favorite penguin read alouds.
- Penguins! by Gail Gibbons
- Little Penguin Gets the Hiccups by Tadgh Bentley
- If You Were a Penguin by Florence Minor
- Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester
- Little Penguin and the Lollipop by Tadgh Bentley
- Ella and Penguin Stick Together by Megan Maynor
- National Geographic Readers: Penguins! by Anne Schreiber
- Penguins by Jill Esbaum
Label the Penguin Freebie
To complete the penguin snack and add an educational component, I’ve put together a free Label the Penguin printable page.
This page can be completed before the penguin snack or use it as an extension activity. Whether it’s done before or after, labeling is a must when it comes to penguin activities for kindergarten.
There’s no prep work required for this Label the Penguin printable, which makes it great to pull out at a moments notice.
Students will need glue, scissors, and crayons to complete the page. They will cut out the penguin labeling words on the right and glue them in the boxes to show the parts of the penguin.
Once the students have completed the activity, they can color the picture.
You can get your copy of the Label the Penguin freebie by clicking here.