It's Polar Habitat time!
One of my favorite themes to incorporate in the classroom.
To get you started, I have this FREE quick-print Polar themed Color-by-Number just for you!
There's also information inside the download about how you can get your hands on even MORE Polar Habitat fun.
Need more FREE resources? How about these Penguin Poetry pages...
What else can you do to bring your Polar Unit to life?
Do you need more art ideas?
This Polar Bear Print is a favorite of mine,
from the Preschoolers Want 2 Know blog...
Or what about these cute egg carton penguins from KiwiCrate...
Cute, Cute, Cute!
Don't forget fun games for your classroom:
I ordered this game from MPMSchoolSupplies.com to go along with our Polar Animals unit. This game offers a fun way for students to develop logical thinking skills and spatial reasoning abilities. Plus, let's admit it, it's just downright adorable!
The back of the box gives an example of what the game and pieces looks like:
The blue tray was quite a bit smaller than I was expecting, but then I realized that if it were larger, then the pieces would have to be larger and that might make it more difficult for students to use.
Five penguin ice floes are included of various shapes. The penguins slide up and down on the pieces, causing the pieces to take a new form. This alone take the game to a whole new level!
Did I mention already how CUTE the penguins are? Ok, just checking!
A Challenge Book is included for kids to use. It offers Starter, Junior, Expert, and Master challenges. As well as...answer keys! (Phew, thank goodness, haha!)
Students must work to put the penguins in the matching places on the blue game tray.
Directions are included in the front inside cover of the Challenge Book:
This is what Starter challenges looks like:
Here are some Junior challenges:
And a sample of Expert challenges:
And finally, some of the Master challenges:
Thank goodness for Answer Keys! {wink!}
My kids wanted to instantly start with the Master challenges, but quickly learned they needed to start with the Starter ones first. This is my son, who is going into 2nd grade, attempting to solve some of the Starter challenges. He didn't realize at first that the penguin his right hand is touching, slides up and down the ice floe, creating a new shape for the piece.
It took him a good fifteen minutes before figuring out the first Starter challenge! Even my husband took a stab at helping him out. (Were we just making this more complicated than it needed to be? Or do we as a family just need more practice on our logical thinking skills, lol!)
I loved watching him think as he worked. It's actually a lot harder than you may think! Take a try yourself, you might be surprised!
I very highly recommend this game! It's a ton of fun and will be a great surprise to pull out during our Polar Animals unit. I'm thinking the kids can do it at indoor recess as well.
You can find Penguins on Ice and other games like it under the Critical Thinking Games tab at MPM School Supplies.
Wishing you tons of Polar Winter Fun!
~Til next time
