Here’s a quick craft by guest blogger Angela Pounders using stuff you probably already have around the house!

Winter Craft Idea for Preschoolers


Angela Pounders, The Master’s Daughter

Penguins are very interesting animals.  Some are nearly 4 feet tall and weigh 90 pounds like the Emperor penguin of Antarctica.  Some have fun names like the Macaroni penguin of the Falkland Islands (one of my daughter’s favorites since she likes macaroni) that is 28 inches tall and weighs almost 10 pounds.  Some aren’t black and white like the Little Blue or “Blue Fairy” penguin of New Zealand that measures only 16 inches tall and weighs 2 1/2 pounds.

This craft could be a lead in to further discussion of penguins or a follow up to reading about or watching penguins in action.  These directions are for your “standard” penguin, but don’t be afraid to create one of the “lesser known” varieties!  I used an adaptation of a post on www.discountschoolsupply.com for this craft.


 Toilet Paper Roll Penguins

Supplies:

toilet paper roll/black construction paper/white paper/orange or brown construction paper/crayons or markers/scissors/glue stick

*Adults should prep the pieces for younger children.  Provide a template on heavy card stock for older children to trace their own pieces.

Directions:

1.  Cut the black construction paper to size for the penguin.  Glue the black construction paper around the cardboard roll for the penguin’s body.

2.  Cut out two circles for the head (the black one should be larger than the white one), a white oval for the tummy, orange or brown webbed feet (we omitted these because they were flimsy) and a black pair of wings.  *See picture.

3.  Glue the oval onto the front of the penguin’s body, the feet so they stick out from the bottom of the roll and the wings on the side/around the back.

4.   Glue the small white circle on top of the larger black circle.  Draw a face.  Then, glue the head onto the penguin.

5.  You can give your penguin more character by adding scarves or hats with scraps of paper, rick rack, etc.

My daughter was two years old at the time when we did this craft and she loved it.  Initially, the plan was to make a couple of penguins, but she wanted a family.  She has played with them A LOT!  It’s been almost two years and she still plays with them even though they look very worn.


Take it a step further….

•  Create a habitat for your penguins to play in.
• Pretend you are a penguin and waddle around the house.
• Watch videos of real penguins.
• Create life size pictures of a variety of penguins or measure out how tall some of them are on the floor or door.  Children can lie or stand to see how they measure up to each kind of penguin.
• Read books about penguins!  One book that we really enjoyed was Penguins, Penguins, Everywhere! by Bob Barner.

 For more fun, educational activities and recipes, check out my blog, The Master’s Daughter.




 
 Angela Pounders is a transplant to Prince William County from Arlington, VA.  She is blessed to be a stay at home mama to two beautiful girls.  As a former teacher (as well as preschool director and Children and Family Director), she is always on the look out for fun, easy and educational things to do with her girls.  She also loves to share her ideas and you can find more crafts and recipes at her blog,The Master’s Daughter.  You can also find her on Facebook.

We just got back from the National Children’s Museum press preview and had a blast!  The museum is the only congressionally designated museum to focus exclusively on children, and its mission is “ to inspire children to care about and improve the world.”  The staff there was great, helpful, and interactive with the children.  It was fun to be a place where learning through play is encouraged, and little ones.  

 I was thrilled to check out the new PB and Jack indoor play area located in the Turnpike Shopping Center in Fairfax.  My official and comprehensive article about PB and Jack will be coming out as a January family feature for Northern Virginia Magazine, but I want to share some details about this cool new gem!  A huge highlight of my visit was meeting talented, local photographer, Marian Lozano, who offered to loan me her beautiful pictures for this blog post.

Parents have been flocking to Jammin' Java in Vienna for years each weekday morning at 10:30 AM to enjoy the popular "tot rock series."  2013 will bring some changes.  There will be a new schedule, new menu, and other cool perks for Tot Rock at Jammin' Java.  Jammin' Java writes:

We assure you that the changes were not made lightly. This new schedule simply reflects what works best for the venue and the performers at this time. We hope you will come check out the shows at their new day and time, and that this new offering works great for you too!

If you are in close-quarters with friends and family-members, there is a higher likelihood that you will struggle more with your children.  Why?  Many of us are feeling judged and insecure, especially if there are not many children around.  You may feel that well-meaning family members are dropping hints (“I never allowed Jimmy to give me that kind of sass, parents are so different these days”), displaying some non-verbal behaviors (eye-rolling, audible sighing, etc.), and outright giving directions (“you need to give that baby some food, he’s obviously hungry!”)

And while we know what we are doing as parents, we can suddenly turn into the surly teen we once were: huffing around the house and becoming snappish to everyone.  This insecurity leads to harsher discipline with the children…and that contributes to more misbehavior from our children, which invites more comments from the peanut gallery, which makes us madder…you get the cycle, right?

Stop the madness!

1)     Create a plan!  Every single time your child misbehaves to the point you want to speak to him or her, take the child out of the room.  Why?  It stops public shaming!  You are not putting on a show for the relatives, and you are more likely to stay in control of your emotions when you don’t have an audience.

2)     Keep highlighting the behavior you would like to see, as well as creating opportunities for GOOD behaviors to happen!  So much misbehavior comes out of boredom, so give the children REAL jobs that you can thank them for. (Raking, cooking, cleaning, making signs for meals, helping siblings and cousins, walking pets, etc.)

3)     As the parent, take a look at which family members pluck your nerves and steer clear.  If you know Auntie is going to tsk-tsk, keep your child away from her and IGNORE her when she does it.  If your in-laws start in with the “when I was a kid stories” feign a diaper change or potty break.  I don’t encourage avoidance as a way to handle emotional issues, but it is your best strategy when there is no out in sight and you have to make nice!  When in doubt, keep asking family members about their lives and opinions.  They will usually talk and talk and talk about themselves, and forget all about how flawed you are!



Remember: people really do forget what it is like to have little kids!  Cut everyone (most of all, YOU) a little slack this holiday season.  Try to find the best in people.  Come armed with charming stories, colorful anecdotes, and other ways to connect to family…you may find you even may have some {gasp} fun this holiday season!

With common sense, humor, and time-tested strategies, Meghan Leahy Parent Coach helps parents build positive connections with their children. Visit her at www.positivelyparenting.com or find her on Facebook and Twitter.