A great way to encourage very young children to potty train is to give them their very own roll of toilet paper, along with the promise that, if they use the potty regularly, they can make a cute penguin with the toilet paper roll as soon as it’s empty.
Pair this craft with Émile Jadoul’s adorable picture book All By Myself! for a potty-training pick-me-up — or with any number of other penguin picture books for a fun midwinter story-time activity.
Materials:
Step 1: Print and cut out the penguin template.
Step 2: On a piece of black construction paper measure a rectangle that is the same height as the toilet paper roll and wide enough to wrap around the entire toilet paper roll. Cut out the rectangle and tape one end to the toilet paper roll, then wrap the black construction paper around the roll and secure with tape.
Step 3: Trace pieces from the penguin template onto black and orange construction paper and cut out the shapes. (Hint: Trace one wing or foot and fold the paper over the drawing before cutting out the shape. This will create two identical pieces without tracing and cutting twice.) Alternatively, you can simply color in the template pieces with orange and black markers.
Step 4: Fold a crease in the top of each of the two wings you have created, where you think the penguin’s shoulder should be. (You don’t want to fold the entire wing in half — just the top 1/3 of it.) Place glue on either side of the shoulder crease and affix it the penguin’s body. Repeat with the second wing.
Step 5: Fold the beak along the dotted lines indicated on the template to create a flat rectangle at the base of the beak. Use glue on the rectangle to affix the beak to the toilet paper roll.
Step 6: Place glue on the back edge (where the ankle would be) of each of the feet you cut out. Flip the penguin upside down and attach the feet. Pinching the back of the foot so that it folds up into the toilet paper roll will help. Just make sure that, when you flip the penguin back over, you fold the feet down so that his feet are flat against the table top.
Step 7: Glue two googly eyes to the face of your penguin.
Step 8: Cut an oval with one flat shorter side from a piece of white paper. This will be the white belly of the penguin. Make sure the belly isn’t too long — you don’t want the white belly touching the beak. Glue the belly in place on the penguin.
To learn more about All By Myself! visit our website or check out the cute book trailer below.
