**Note: This page is for educational inspiration and is not officially affiliated with Penguin Awareness Day. Penguin Awareness Day is an annual observance, typically celebrated on January 20th. While its exact origins are not widely documented or linked to a specific founding organisation, it is broadly recognised by aquariums, zoos, and wildlife conservation groups worldwide. The day serves to raise awareness about the various species of penguins, their unique biology, the threats they face (such as climate change and habitat loss), and the importance of conservation efforts. For more information on penguin conservation, you can consult organisations such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) or the Global Penguin Society.
Understanding Penguin Awareness Day in EYFS & KS1
Waddle on over and learn about penguins! š§āļø Penguin Awareness Day is an annual observance, typically celebrated on January 20th.
For early years settings, nurseries, preschools, childminders, and Year 1 and Year 2 classrooms, this day provides a wonderfully engaging and educational theme for exploring animals, polar environments, wildlife conservation, science, and understanding the world. It's about introducing children to these unique birds, their habitats, and fostering an early understanding of environmental responsibility and empathy towards living creatures. This day offers fantastic planning ideas and inspiration for engaging activities that truly resonate with young minds, making learning about ecology and animal welfare both exciting and meaningful.
Why Is Teaching About Penguins & Conservation Important for Young Children?
Integrating lessons about penguins and wildlife conservation into your practice with young children (aged 0-7) can help foster their curiosity about the natural world, developing empathy for animals, and instilling a sense of environmental stewardship.
Environmental Awareness: Helps children understand different habitats (e.g., polar regions) and the impact of human activity on animal populations.
Biodiversity: Introduces children to a unique species, highlighting the diversity of life on Earth.
Empathy & Care: Fosters a sense of compassion and responsibility towards animals, encouraging them to care about wildlife.
Scientific Inquiry: Promotes observation skills as children learn about penguin behaviours, adaptations, and life cycles.
Geography: Provides an opportunity to discuss polar regions and the animals that live there.
Literacy & Numeracy: Penguin themes can be integrated into counting, matching, writing, and vocabulary-building activities.
Engaging Penguin & Conservation Activities for Penguin Awareness Day (0-7 Year Olds)
Make Penguin Awareness Day a truly fascinating and active experience with these planning ideas and activities perfect for EYFS and KS1 children. The focus is on learning about penguins, their world, and how we can help protect them! Many of these early years and year 1 activities can be supported by our dedicated 'Polar Animals' and 'Birds' resources.
Here's some inspiration for diving into the world of penguins in your setting: (Please use your own discretion and knowledge of your children to ensure appropriateness of each activity and safety concerning any materials given and activity undertaken.)
Penguin Facts & Features: Learn about what makes penguins special. Use our 'Emperor Penguin Body Parts Poster & Activity Sheets' and 'Penguin Body Parts - Poster & Writing Sheets' to explore their unique bodies and adaptations.
Polar Animal Habitat: Introduce the polar regions where many penguins live. Display our 'Polar Animals - Display Banner'. Discuss other animals that live in these cold environments.
Penguin Movement: Encourage children to move like penguins ā waddling, sliding on their tummies. Use 'Polar Animals - Activity Movement Challenge Cards' to inspire action.
Penguin Arts & Crafts: Provide colouring sheets featuring penguins and other polar animals. Use 'Polar Animals - Cartoon Polar Animal Colouring Sheets'. Children could also make penguin masks using 'Polar Animals - Polar Animal Masks - Colouring' and 'Polar Animals - Polar Animal Masks'.
"Feed the Penguin" Activities: Engage fine motor skills and early learning. Use 'Polar Animals - Feed The Penguin Pencil Control Activity Sheets' and 'Polar Animals - Feed The Penguin Pencil Control/Finger Tracing Mats' for tracing and drawing activities. Play a 'Feed The Penguin Game' a memory style game where children "feed" fish to a drawn penguin. Our 'Feed The Penguin Playdough Counting Mats (1-10)' combine sensory play with numeracy.
Penguin Numeracy & Literacy:
Counting: Use 'Polar Animals - Cartoon Penguin And Fish Counting Puzzles (1-10)' and 'Penguin And Fish Counting Puzzles (1-10)' for counting and matching. Our 'Polar Animals - Multimats' can also be used for number recognition or loose parts counting with a polar theme.
Alphabet/Sounds: Use 'Polar Animals - Alphabet Cards' for letter recognition. Link animal names to initial sounds with 'Animal Initial Sound Match Game'.
Penguin Puzzles & Games: Our 'Polar Animals - 4-Piece Puzzles (Cartoon)' and 'Polar Animals - Dice Game' provide fun opportunities for problem-solving and social play.
General Bird Exploration (as penguins are birds): While focusing on penguins, you can also link to broader bird topics. Use 'Birds - Display Banner', 'Birds - Silhouette Puzzles', 'Birds - 0-20 Counting Display Posters/Cards', and 'Birds - 0-20 Colour And Count Display Posters/Cards'.
Animals of the World: Place penguins within the context of global animal diversity. Use 'Animals Of The World Mega Colouring Pack', 'Animals Of The World' Display Banner & Headings', 'Animal Sorting Game/Activity' and 'Animal Border Sheetsā.
Conservation Discussion: In simple terms, discuss why penguins need our help (e.g., turning off lights to save energy, so their ice doesn't melt).
Explore More: Please visit our 'Birds' or 'Polar Animals' pages to browse our entire collection of educational materials on this theme!
These activities offer great inspiration for making Penguin Awareness Day a memorable and impactful experience in your early years and Key Stage One setting, fostering scientific curiosity, environmental awareness, empathy for wildlife, and a genuine love for nature.
To explore ideas surrounding additional early years events, please visit our 'Special Dates Calendar' page.
Printable resources to support teaching & learning surrounding: āPenguin Awareness Dayā
Free Penguin related activities for EYFS & KS1:
Penguin related activities for EYFS & KS1:
Please visit our āBirdsā or āPolar Animalsā pages to browse our entire collection of educational materials on this theme.
Additional Pages you may like to explore which cover relevant &/or Connected themes
More Early Years Event Pages for January
Explore special dates (including awareness dates, festivals, celebrations & events) relevant to your EYFS & KS1 children
Browse our āSpecial Dates Calendarā page using the link below. Youāll find calendars for every month of the year to aid your planning!
SEARCH āLITTLE OWLS Resourcesā USING THE FOLLOWING MENU BUTTONSā¦
Disclaimer:
This page is for educational purposes only and is intended to support early years and primary practitioners with ideas and resources related to 'Penguin Awareness Day'. We are not officially affiliated with or endorsed by any specific founding organisation for this observance. We do not claim any rights to specific trademarks or official materials associated with this event. For more information on penguin conservation, you can consult reputable wildlife conservation organisations such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) or the Global Penguin Society.
Once upon a time... there was a special week for stories! šš£ļø National Storytelling Week is an annual event in the UK, organised by the Society for Storytelling. It typically takes place duringā¦