Penguins on a stick

Or should I call them “spoon penguins”? Anyway, they’re cute as a button :)
I found a pack of wooden spoons at the supermarket, and they begged me to please buy and repurpose them… The oval shape was perfect for my current subject in my early music education course – penguins! So here’s how I made them with the kids:

You’ll need

• wooden spoons
• black drawing ink
• white paper hole protectors
• white ink or acrylic paint
• felt scraps in yellow and black
• white glue or small glue dots
• scissors
• damp rug

If necessary, pour the ink into a glass with a wide opening. Dip a spoon into the ink until the bowl is completely covered. Allow the excess ink to drip off …


… and put it on a piece of paper to dry. Prepare as many spoons as needed.


In the upper third, place two hole protectors next to each other. That’ll be the eyes.


For the white belly, I cut a piece of foam to fit into an empty tin and drenched it in white ink. You can simply use a kitchen sponge.
Press one finger into the ink and place it just below the eyes. Repeat if necessary.
Attention: Now the kids should wipe their fingers on the damp cloth. Otherwise, the white ink will come to life and magically appear on every surface ;)


Cut a small triangle from the yellow felt and glue it between and a little below the eyes. From the black felt, cut a crescent-shaped piece and attach it to the spoon’s back. I decided to skip the feet because it would’ve been too complicated for my kinder students.


Now here’s the complete penguin! Isn’t he adorable? Depending on the age of the kids, you can decide how much you want to prepare. I decided to do all the cutting work because we didn’t have much time.

Here are some pics of my proud penguin tamers (the faces are blurred to protect the children’s privacy):