Life Cycle of a Penguin Worksheets and Printables

Published:
January 17, 2018

Sarah Shelton

Contributor:
Sarah Shelton

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We love learning about life cycles in our homeschool. It is so much fun to watch my kids as they learn where an animal comes from and how it goes from birth to a full-grown animal. The life cycle of a penguin worksheets and printables are a great addition to your penguin unit study at home.

Lifecycle of a penguin worksheets and printables with 3 penguins

Penguins Life Cycle

The penguin life cycle is quite interesting, especially the life cycle of emperor penguins which is even more “unique.”

What is the life cycle of a penguin?

  • There are five life stages for these flightless birds called penguins. Those stages include an egg, hatching, chick, juvenile, and adult.
  • Two eggs incubate for 38 to 42 days before hatching. Once hatched, they are fed by their parents for 3 months.
  • The penguins molt their down feathers then are able to swim and forage alongside their parents (mother penguin and father penguin).
  • They reach reproductive maturity in about 3 years of life and change into their white/black signature colors by then as ell.
  • Juveniles are grey/silver in color. They take 13 months to develop their waterproof adult  feathers and gain the ability to hunt on their own.

Fun Penguin Facts for Kids

The first thing to note is that a  penguin is not an arctic animal at all. Penguins are found in Antarctica, the south pole area. When we were doing our research people used these interchangeably which couldn’t be furthest from the truth.

  • So, penguins are from the Antarctic Regions only.
  • Penguins are one of the very few animals that can thrive and breed in the frigid regions of Antarctica.
  • Emperor penguins are unique in their life cycles as they feed regurgitated food to their emperor penguin chicks and keep them warm inside of a brood pouch. They keep their chicks there until they develop cold-weather resistance.
  • A large group of penguins in the water is called a raft but when they get on land a large group is called a waddle.
  • Penguins spend half of their life on land and half in the water.
  • You wouldn’t thin kit but the tuxedo-like colors on penguins is actually a special type of camouflage called countershading.
  • Penguin chicks experience a guard stage during the months of December and January, the time of hatching up to 4 to 6 weeks old.
  • Adult penguins leave the nest unguarded in the post-guard stage in the weeks of January to February.
  • Penguins have quite a few habitats other than Antarctica and Antarctic Islands. They also are found off the coast of Ecuador, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Peru, and Chile.
  • World Penguin Day is celebrated globally on April 24th every year. Use the printables below to celebrate them in your homeschool this year.
  • The Life Cycle of a Penguin Worksheets and Printables

Penguin Life Cycle Worksheet

Life Cycle of a Penguin Printable – Check out this super simple printable that depicts the life cycle of a penguin coloring page. There is a circular visual from a single egg to adult penguins that students can color.

Printable Life Cycle of a Penguin

Printable Life Cycle of a Penguin -This free printable is a subscriber freebie. The fun and glittery images include penguin chick hatch action, adult penguins, little penguins, the egg nest site, and more.

Penguins Life Cycle Worksheets

Penguin Life Cycle Printable Worksheets – Kids of all ages will enjoy practicing a variety of skills with these free penguin life cycle worksheets. This free 74-page printable pack will help students study literacy skills, vocabulary, writing skills, coloring activities, and more.

Penguins Life Cycle Activity

Free Penguin’s Life Cycle Toy Pattern – Download this free pattern for a fine motor skill penguin activity to help study understand the life cycle of a penguin. The sewing tutorial guides students through their black felt, white felt for their white belly and other materials.

Sequence a Penguins Life Cycle

Sequencing Printable Penguin Life Cycle – This life cycle 6-page resource includes colorful sequencing cards. Students can use these to demonstrate their knowledge by completing this cut and paste worksheet penguin activity.

Penguins Life Cycle Poster

Penguin Life Cycle Printable Poster – Grab this poster and place it in your homeschool area to make it a science center during your penguin lessons. This freebie includes 2 printable posters of the penguin life cycle; one comes with vocabulary and one without vocabulary words.

Extra Penguin Themed Lesson Plan Additions

Animal Study on Penguins – You will not want to miss this penguins animal study that provides an exciting hands-on learning experience. This animal study focuses on penguins including parts of a penguin, the life cycle of a penguin, webbed feet information, penguin animal study craft tutorial, and more.

Emergent Reader Penguin – This emergent reader on penguins has a twelve-word vocabulary, rhyming, repetition, and engaging pictures. This mini-book is a free color download to help your child learn about penguins.

Montessori-Inspired Penguin Unit – This hands-on and engaging unit is excellent for your homeschool. This penguin unit includes a free printable “types of penguins” resource and an antarctic map free printable. It also holds simple pages of a variety of skills to learn next to the penguin unit. The matching work includes six penguins including emperor penguins, emperor penguin chicks, chinstrap penguins, Gentoo penguins, and more.

Preschool Penguin Lesson Plan – This free preschool lesson plan will be a great resource for any penguin unit study for your little ones. Print these real photos in color. Make a penguin research station, develop an interactive notebook,  or create a homemade penguin habitat project.

In Conclusion

Typically when studying life cycles we are learning about frogs, and baby turtles, butterflies, plants, etc… I have never seen a penguin life cycle before. This will be the perfect study to cover while learning about any life cycle or while studying polar region animals.

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