Puffin patterns and project

Puffins for a "Puffinry"
I searched High and low for a puffin pattern on the internet and then I even called the woman from tlc pattern books no luck, but I looked at one of my Pocket chart books and violia!!!
The Pocket Chart book by Vaslerie Schifferdanoff is a great book it builds literacy with more than 35 fun, interactive, cross curricular charts.
You use your pocked chart and the children follow directions...
It looks like just a photocopied puffin but it is so much more...
The children had to cut out and color there own feet and place them on the puffin, following the set of directions. Next, was the eye it had to be cut out and I must say so myself my pre-k students did very well with this as it's a difficult eye to cut out. Finally they had to cut out a beak and pattern it yellow, orange, yellow, orange and write Puffin on the belly. This project was great at developing fine motor skills through tracing, cutting and gluing the puffing parts.
It also had a pattern for a flying puffin or a swimming puffin when I had Kindergarten I allowed them to choose the template of their choice but with pre-k it is sometimes best to do the same kind.
Before we made the puffins we read a few stories about Puffins. Puffin's Homecoming by Darice Bailer and The puffins are back! by Gail Gibbions are just a few.
Next we read the the poem by Florence Page Jacque
There once was a Puffin
There once was a puffin,
just the shape of a muffin,
and he lived on an island
In the bright blue sea!
He ate little fishes
That were most delicious.
And he had them for supper
and he had them for tea.
But this poor little puffin
He couldn't play nothin' ( we talk about it this is the way your really say it) He couldn't play anything LOL
For he hadn't anybody
to play with at all
So he sat on his island,
and he cried for awhile, and
he felt vey lonely,
and he felt very small.
Then along came the fisheds
and they said," IF you wishes,
you can have us for playmates,
instead of for tea."
So they now play together
In all sorts of weather
and the puffin eats pancakes
like you and like me.

We have been talking about real and fantasy so we discussed what Puffins eat and if they would really eat pancakes etc...
Older children that have poetry journals love this poemo so much they are even motivated to copy it for handwriting or journal practice and add there own illustrations.