Penguin Alphabet Find and Cover

During the winter months, some of the best activities for preschoolers are penguin activities! Try this fun preschool alphabet activity that has a friendly penguin theme. Pair this activity with other winter preschool activities or add it to your arctic animals activities.

Like all my printables, these penguin alphabet mats can be used in many different ways. Be sure to read to the end of the post to learn how!

Preschool Alphabet Activity for Penguin Theme

Penguin activities are fun for preschoolers. I often add a few during our winter preschool theme, or at the very least we do some penguin activities at some point during the winter months.

Sometimes, I even add penguin activities as part of our arctic animals preschool theme.

Before you say anything…I know penguins don’t live in the arctic. However, the point of adding penguin activities to an arctic animals theme is not to teach preschoolers that they live in the North Pole. It’s to help preschoolers make the association that penguins–like arctic animals–live in a very cold and icy climate.

That being said, many preschool teachers now refer to this idea as “polar animals” preschool theme. By referring to them as polar animals, you can teach about all arctic and antarctic animals in one preschool theme…if you want to split hairs.

FAQ About Teaching the Alphabet to Preschoolers

Don’t Forget About Picture Books

I’m a gigantic fan of using picture books to teach preschoolers the alphabet, as well as to teach about different themes we learn about in preschool. Here’s a list of my favorite alphabet books.

And here are some of my all-time favorite picture books about penguins. This penguin book list has been created from the books I have in my own preschool library.

Penguin Find and Cover Preschool Alphabet Activity

Learning the alphabet doesn’t have to be boring. This fun penguin learning activity will have your preschoolers learning uppercase and lowercase letters in a hands-on way. Bring some winter fun into your classroom or home with this printable alphabet game.

Materials

• free penguin printable
• wintery counting manipulative (optional)
• dry erase pocket
• dry erase marker

How to Prepare the Printable

Download the printable from the end of this post. Print it on heavy card stock and laminate. Alternatively, you can simply slip the letter mats into a dry erase pouch.

Cut out the letter sounds snowball cards. Then the winter theme learning activity is ready for your preschoolers.

How to Teach the Alphabet Using this Free Penguin Printable

To teach the alphabet using this free penguin printable, start by having your preschooler identify the letter on the mat. Then they can cover each corresponding letter around the alphabet border using a counter.

If you want to offer a little extra writing practice, place the mats in a dry erase pouch and have your preschooler use a dry erase marker to circle the corresponding letters.

The letters on the border are written in different fonts, giving your preschooler extra practice in identifying letters they might see in text. This helps them recognize letters more easily when they are written by hand, too.

The borders also feature both uppercase and lowercase versions of the featured letter so your preschooler can practice both kinds of letter recognition.

Next, have your preschooler place the corresponding letter sounds snowball cards on the mat.

Introducing Alphabet Activities During Circle Time

I like to first introduce these mats during circle time. It’s good practice for my preschoolers to work together to find all the letters on the border; but it’s also an opportunity to show my preschoolers smart strategies in finding all the letters, like looking at each letter from left to right rather than randomly.

I also like to model for my preschoolers how to find the right snowball beginning sound cards. I’ll pick one up and ask, “What picture is this?”

“A duck!” they might say.

Then I might respond, “I hear /d/ at the beginning of duck. Is that the right sound?”

Taking the time to “think out loud” (which is called metacognition) also helps preschoolers develop strategies for alphabet activities like this that simply require a little more work.

If your young learner is having difficulties, work with them or remove some frustration by only offering a few letter mats and beginning sound snowballs at a time.

Help your preschooler identify the letter on the mat and point out how the letter looks. Maybe it has straight lines or curvy lines. Maybe both the uppercase and lowercase letter looks the same. These are important characteristics to point out when teaching struggling learners.

Encourage your preschooler to make the letter sound as they search for the correct snowball cards, and remove some variables by only offering a handful of snowballs at a time. This will help them make connections between the letter sounds and the beginning sounds of words.

More Ways to Use Penguin Find & Cover Alphabet Mats

These alphabet mats are not limited to this single activity. Try some of these alternative ideas to differentiate your instruction.

• Add a fine motor element and have your preschooler use clothes pins and pom poms to cover the focus letters on each mat.
• Use these mats during circle time to discuss how letters can look slightly different based on the font used. Then, discuss the characteristics of the focus letter.
• If you have a younger preschooler, use the mats by working with them. Point to each letter around the mat and ask, “Is this letter ___?”
• Place the mats in dry erase pockets and invite your preschooler to draw pictures in the snowballs of other beginning sound words.
• Add a sensory component by using sparkly and glittery white playdough. Have your preschooler roll snakes to form the letter in the penguin box, and then roll a snowball for each corresponding letter around the perimeter of the mats.
• For more sensory input, hide the snowball cards in a shallow bin of rice or fake snow for your preschooler to dig through as they look for correct pictures.

Check out the following hands-on letter activities and then grab your free penguin printable from the end of this post.

Get Your Free Penguin Find & Cover Alphabet Mats Here

Think these preschool alphabet activities will make a great addition to your preschool literacy centers? Go ahead and grab your own copy by clicking the image below.

You can also print the “how-to” card at the end of this post and file it away with this printable so you can always remember the different ways to use these mats.