Puffin Peter is a story by Petr Horacek and published by Walker. It is about friendship, not giving up, a few different birds and a helpful whale. It has lovely pictures, is a nice book to read and one of our favourites to look at before bed.
Activities
Making the toucan
Making the parrot
Making the penguin
Making the puffin
Making the whale
Similarities and differences discussion
Cereal box ocean
Storm string picture
Story board
Painted stones
Act out the story
Make Puffin Peter's house
Peter Puffin's home discussion
Paint a whale on a plant pot and grow a plant
Discussion about friendships, getting lost and the helpful whale
Whale fruit dish
Puffin cheese biscuit
Chocolate nest
What do puffins eat discussion
Indoor
There are different birds seen on the journey including parrots, toucans and penguins along with Peter the Puffin. If your child/children would like to make the birds then they could make the different birds using a few art and craft materials. The toucan can be made using black paper and then different coloured paper for the beak. The parrot can be made out of a paper cup, red or blue paint and some brightly coloured feathers. The penguin can be made out of a toilet or kitchen roll using black and white paint and orange paper or card for the beak. Peter the puffin can be made using half a paper plate for it's body and cut the other half you are not using in half again and this can be the beak. Your child/children might want to make two puffins so that they can have a Paul too for Peter to find. The whale can also be made out of a paper plate cut in half and if you have some string available then your child/children could paint that blue and then attach it as the spray. Don't forget to put the bird creations in the members area, I would love to see them. During these activities you can discuss the similarities and differences between the other birds and Puffin Peter. Older children could put these in a two column table, one headed similarities and the other headed differences. If your child/children would like to make the ocean then they could make the ocean using a cereal box. We used to do these quite a lot when we were younger and we often had our creations as fish tanks in our bedroom. If you cut a window in the front then your child/children can paint the back of it blue and add in a little painted puffin and whale. These can be dangled by string or stuck on the painted blue back and then the bottom of the box can be decorated with sand and stones. There is also a storm in the story so if you have some string available a fun activity is dragging painted string (paint it white or yellow) on black or blue paper and this can make it look stormy. Children love making different patterns as they pull the string along and the pictures are easy to do but come out looking great. Finally older children could do a story board. Fold some paper into 6 or 8 squares and then your child/children can put what happens step by step in the story in each box. They can do just drawings or drawings with words. This helps with them thinking about what happens next so the order of events and being able to summarise a story.
Outdoor
The story takes place outside so if you have a sandpit or tray filled with water then your child/children could act out the story. They could paint the characters on stones and then if these are varnished the paint won't wash off when they are put in the water. Another fun activity could be to make a house for Puffin Peter using mud, stones, twigs or whatever else they can find in the garden and you could talk to your child/children about what they think the islands are like where Puffin Peter and Puffin Paul live. Your child/children could also paint a whale on a plant pot and then grow cress or something similar and it could look like the spray coming out of the whale. If they have to look after their plant this will teach them responsibility and they can see their seeds grow into plants. Children love this and often take their watering job quite seriously. During these activities you could have discussions with your child/children about friendships, being lost and how helpful the whale was.
Cooking/Food
There are a few food activities that go along with this story. The first being making a whale fruit dish. The whale could be made with a banana cut in half and then giant chocolate buttons can be used for the fins and tail and raisins for the eyes. A puffin cheese biscuit could be using a round digestive biscuit, cream cheese, black grapes for the wings, tomato and carrot for the nose and a raisin for the eye. For a sweet dish your child/children could make a nest using shredded wheat covered in melted chocolate put in a paper cake case and then jelly beans can be used for the eggs. Around Easter time you could use mini eggs but I am always wary of these because young children can choke on them. You could have a discussion about what they think puffins eat whilst you they are creating their dishes.
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