Games and Activities for Mr Poppers Penguins Audiobook

- April 25, 2019

Today is World Penguin Day! Although most of the world is thinking of springtime and waving good-bye to snow, April 25th has been set aside by the people who decide these sorts of things as a day to honor penguins! I thought this would be a great day to do a penguin post with Mr. Poppers Penguins and ideas for activities to do while listening to the story being read aloud.

My kids and I just completed our very first read aloud novel- Tuck Everlasting. They knew the musical songs from listening to the cast album with me. As we read the book, the kids and I would intersperse the text with snippets of songs. It was a great way to engage their imaginations more and keep them focused on the parts of the story they already knew. During the times when we weren't listening to the story, they wanted to listen to the music or talk about their "friend" Winnie Foster. It was such a special time that I was eager to begin our next book.

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For our next novel read aloud, I wanted to try Mr. Popper's Penguins again. We've attempted it three times before and had never gotten more than a few chapters into the story. The kids were just too young before, not understanding enough about the world or possessing a long enough time attention span to follow the plot. Anticipation of our fourth read aloud of the book caused me to write this blog post.

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These activities were specifically chosen to be single person occupation and ones that wouldn't make much noise, so that children could do them while listening to Mr. Poppers Penguins read aloud. There are store-bought ideas and DIY activities. I also included lots of links to turn this reading time into a full-on unit study!

Quiet Penguin Activities for Listening

Penguins Pool Party- single player puzzle game with 60 challenges

Penguins on Ice Math Frame- practice math facts and make a 100-chart or number line to 100

Playmobile Penguin Enclosure- littlest listeners will appreciate this adorable playset

Safari Ltd Penguin Toob- play with them in sensory bins and small worlds or match them to 3-part cards

Penguins on Ice- single player puzzle with 5 pentomino pieces and 60 challenges

Nesting Penguins- Russian nesting doll style penguins which are good for learning spacial skills

Safari Ltd Empire Penguin- name the body parts or play with him in a sensory bin

Wood Stacking Game- stack blocks in a certain way to support a penguin at the top

Lego Penguin Sets- fans of Lego will appreciate adding these penguins to their collection

Penguin Balance Scale- practice number recognition and basic math with this fun scale

Penguin Life Cycle Set- review how penguins grow and move through their life

DIY More Ideas