Penguins…It’s Not Just About the Little Blue

I really like this time of year when everyone returns to school after the holidays ready to start learning about…PENGUINS! Our feathered friends in the far South. They’re cute, potentially cuddly and full of facts. So much learning takes place in my class during our Penguin theme. And what inevitably happens, year after year, is the Little Blue claims his spot at the top of the popularity chain. Cause, well he’s so little. And cute. I’m sure you’re familiar. Every year, my kids oooh and aaah when I pull out his fact card. I try really hard to sell them on ALL the other penguins that are out there and for sure, they love them too.  Who wouldn’t? The Emperor, tallest, coldest and most faithful. The Rockhopper, funniest and most aptly named. The King, Antarctica’s second in command. In the end though,  Little Blue always wins.

One year, my kids literally begged me to let them draw a life-size version of him. Of course I said yes. And well, he is very small, especially when compared to the other penguins. Honestly, the African penguin has a good 10 inches on him.

I’ve decided I’m partly to blame though. I promote his cuteness. I display his fact card, then demonstrate how tall he is with my hand, and I always finish with – Isn’t he adorable? What 1st grader wouldn’t buy into that? So this year, I will present all of these penguins to my kids with absolute neutrality. I will NOT comment on the smallness of the Little Blue, I will NOT put my hand mere inches from the floor to show his actual height and I will NOT utter the word cute in his presence. I may even wait a few days before I tell my kids that he is also known as the Fairy Penguin. Yep. No Little Blue influence this year. None. From that point forward, I will at least have some idea if I truly am to blame. He’s just so cute though.

I’ll let you know how it goes.