This winter, when you’re staying warm and cozy indoors, cuddle up with a good book with the kiddos. 

One series we love is Helen Lester’s Tacky books! Tacky the Penguin is about being true to yourself and embracing what makes you unique. If your kids also love him, they’ll have a blast with this Tacky the Penguin craft!

Waddle over to see all these other penguin activities your kids will love. There are DIYs, art projects, and printables featuring the cold-loving birds from the South Pole.

Tacky Penguin Craft

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Tacky doesn’t look like just any other penguin. He has a style of his own, so to easily create it, we have a template available for you to download. 

You’ll need a few things that are more than likely already in your stash of supplies. When kids make this fun, Tacky the Penguin, they will work on their scissor skills, fine motor skills, following instructions, and, of course, being themselves. It’s perfect for a winter-themed book study unit!

This easy idea is an interactive way for kids to engage with the story and let their imaginations run wild.

Supplies

• Colored cardstock or construction paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Markers or crayons
• Penguin template (unlock the free template at the end of the post)

Directions

Start by downloading the template and printing it out. Once the template is printed, gather the materials for this fun activity. Get those scissors ready, and let’s help the kids bring this penguin to life!

First, guide your child to create the penguin by coloring in his printed shirt.

Next, glue the bowtie to the top and middle of his shirt. Set aside for later.

Make Tacky’s face by gluing his eyes in the middle of the head, just a bit below the top of his head.

Place the beak in between the eyes and glue them in place.

Take the white belly piece and glue it just below the beak.

Next, help your child to take the completed shirt and glue it to the top of the belly piece.

Glue the flippers to the back of each of the shirt’s arms.

Finally, encourage your child to glue the feet to the back and bottom of the penguin’s body.

We bet your kids will love creating this fun penguin idea. Check out our other winter animal crafts to make more memories together!

Fun Paper Plate Winter Hat Craft

Winter Ideas For Kids

When the cold weather has you staying inside more, it’s a great time to do creating with the kids.

A good way to limit screen time is to keep the kids entertained and busy learning with some more winter-themed DIYs and activities! For some fun, projects to try with your kids this winter season, keep reading below.

Winter Books For Kids

This winter season, bring back the power of the written word by grabbing a book and reading it to your kids! Reading books with kids can provide them with knowledge, help them develop their language skills, and create precious memories.

Not to mention, it’s fun! Imagine telling stories in front of a warm fire – SO cozy! Read together silly stories that make you both laugh out loud and more serious texts that expand their horizons.

Related: Winter Do A Dot Printables

When you both snuggle up in bed with a storybook, it’s a truly magical adventure. Introduce your little ones to new worlds of reading this winter – it’s an experience they’ll never forget.

Here are some of the best winter animal books.

Polar Bear Island is a fun book for winter! Polar Bear Island is just that – only for polar bears! That is until Kirby the penguin comes to visit. She turns the place around and adds tons of interesting excitement, but will the polar bears let her stay? You have to check it out and see for yourself!

Tacky The Penguin– This is a great book for children to learn about acceptance and valuing others for exactly who they are.

Owl Babies– A sweet book that teaches kids that Mom always comes back! It’s especially great for children who may have separation anxiety.

Winter Crafts For Kids

Crafting is a fun learning tool that can help kids learn, ease stress and anxiety, and boost their mood and self-confidence.

It’s a fun activity where they are able to use their creativity and artistic skills to make something that they’ll love to show off. For some winter fun, add some of these projects to your child’s day.

Try this Popsicle Stick Walrus Craft

Penguin Shape Craft – Kids can create one of our tuxedoed friends from Antarctica by combining different shapes! It’s a fun and easy paper activity that kids will have a blast making. While they’re putting the penguin together, they’ll also learn their shapes!

Walrus Name Craft – Let’s go fishing with the walrus! He’s got them all lined up to help kids learn how to spell their names. This is a fun and simple idea that comes together easily with our template. Download it today for some creative learning with this Arctic animal!

Tissue Paper Polar Bear—Your little cubs will work on their fine motor skills when they glue the tissue paper to the template to bring this polar bear to life! When kids make this fun and easy project, they’ll also be able to work on color recognition and following directions.

Moose Handprint Craft – This moose will be ready to roam when your kids lend a hand in making it. This cute guy is made from your kiddo’s little handprint and our free template! While kids make their moose, it’s a great time to learn about these majestic animals!

Winter Activities For Kids

Keep kids occupied and learning with these fun and cheerful penguin dot-to-dot printables! As they connect the dots, they’ll work on their fine motor skills and count up to 25. Once they’ve completed the different activities, they can express their artistic skills by coloring them in.

Plus, these penguin printables are free to use!

On our arctic expedition, we found these walrus worksheets! Kids will learn that W is for walrus with the handwriting sheet. They’ll be able to work on letter recognition with the letter maze, and the label on the walrus sheet will help kids learn about the tusked sea mammal.

These pages are perfect for a small group or independent work activity, so add them to your lesson plans today!

This silly snowman is ready to guide your kids through cutting different paths, matching, and counting with these snowman cutting activity pages. These free printables are a great way for kids to practice using their scissors to gain hand strength, hand-eye coordination, and fine motor control.

If your kids love their tangrams, then you’ll want to make sure to print out these fun winter pattern block mats. When kids use these mats with their pattern blocks, it helps them identify shapes and colors and develop their fine motor skills.

Toilet Paper Roll Polar Bear Craft

This free activity pack is also an engaging way to introduce your kids to symmetry and spatial awareness!

Share With Us

Did you make this activity with your kids or students? We’d love to feature them on our social media!

For a chance to have your child’s project featured, simply snap a picture of the completed project and post it to our Facebook page, email it to us directly by clicking here, or use #simpleeverydaymom on your social media!

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