Bring the winter vibes in while leaving the cold outside with this super fun (and EASY) arctic penguin activity.
Our sensory play has looked quite different recently between moving, the holidays, and just life… but we are back to it! My boys have missed colored rice and I have to say, I missed it too! I just added everything white and blue to an Ikea Trofast container and called it good!
ABOUT OUR ACTIVITY
Set up:
- Prep colored rice the night before
- THIS is my favorite food coloring!!!!
- Pour rice or any filler to the container
- Place figurines, scenery, and details
- Add scoops and cups
How to incorporate learning into a sensory activity:
- Ask a lot of open ended questions that require thinking and response. For example: What do you think penguins like to do? What do you think the weather is like where penguins live?
- Share a few simple facts about your topic
- Read a book before and/or after that integrates your sensory play
- ALLOW THEM TO PLAY! Exploring through their senses is the best way to learn
Clean up:
- Rice is one of my fav fillers because it vacuums and sweeps right up
- Make sure to save colored rice for future activities (a baggie works great to store it in)
- Leave out the main figurines or objects for them to continue playing with while they process information
- I will add their penguins to their toy rotation the following week if they aren’t already out
HOW TO MODIFY THIS ACTIVITY
Other arctic filler ideas:
- Ice with or without food coloring
- Packing peanuts
- Shredded paper
- Styrofoam
- Water beads (you can also freeze them!)
- Collected snow
- Epsom salt
- Shaving cream
- Cotton balls
- Oobleck
- Marshmallows
If you don’t have penguin figurines or arctic animals:
- Print off pictures of the animals and laminate if you want them to last longer
- Create a scene with scoops and cups then add a book about the animals
EXTENSION ACTIVITIES
- Watch live penguin cams from around the world
- Print off a simple fact sheet about your topic and hang it up in a place they often spend time
- Read a book that integrates your sensory activity
- Have them color pictures of penguins or other arctic animals
- Large motor: Have them do a penguin waddle by placing a ballon between their legs and making them walk
Download Penguin Fact Sheet HERE!!!!!!
Materials used: colored rice, penguin animals, paper punched snowflakes, transparent duplos, magnatile squares, & random scoops and bowls.