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

One book that we love is Tacky the Penguin! It’s all about being true to yourself, and embracing what makes you unique. 

To go along with the story, we have the perfect project for your kids to do. They’ll love creating their own Tacky the Penguin craft after hearing how he saves the day. 

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

You’ll just need a few things that are more than likely already in your stash of supplies. Kids will work on their scissor skills, fine motor skills, following instructions, and of course, being themselves, when they make this fun craft.

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

Tacky The Penguin Activity

Supplies

• Colored cardstock or construction paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Markers or crayons
• Penguin template (enter your email in the form at the end of this post to have the link sent to you)

Directions

Download the penguin template, print, and cut out the pieces you need.

Begin to create the penguin by coloring in his 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, 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.

Finish by gluing the feet to the back and bottom of the penguin’s body.

We bet your kids will love creating this fun penguin craft. Be sure to check out our other winter animal crafts to make more memories together!

Winter Ideas For Kids

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

A good way to limit screen time is to keep the kids entertained and busy learning with some more winter-themed crafts 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.

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.

Below are some of our favorite winter-themed books for kids.

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, be sure to add some crafts to your child’s day.

Penguin Shape Craft – Kids can create one of our tuxedoed friends from Antarctica by combining different shapes! It’s a fun and easy paper craft 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 craft 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 in place on the template to bring this polar bear to life! When kids make this fun and easy craft, 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 craft their own moose, it’s a great time for them 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 counting up to 25. Once they have revealed the adorable penguin pictures, they can express their artistic skills by coloring them in.

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.

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. They’ll love all the cute winter scenes in this set of mats!

Winter Fun

• Kids will look super cute in this sweet snowman shirt!
• These adorable penguin soaps are great for encouraging kids to wash their hands.
• This penguin playdough kit is great for sensory play!

Share With Us

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

For a chance to have your child’s craft 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!

More Winter Ideas For Kids

Tacky The Penguin Craft Template