One
thing that a lot of our kids have in common with us is that they love
animals! Whether it's a wild animal they have near their homes or a
pet animal such as a cat, dog, or even a pet chicken or pet cow, a
lot of our kids are super interested in animals and love learning
about new ones!
I
got a lot of great responses from my kids when I wrote about beavers.
Some kids said they had never heard of them before, but all agreed,
the busy beaver is an amazing little critter!
So
in keeping with the "Canadian Animals" theme, I decided to
write about puffins next. I found a whole passel of perky and
playful puffin printables! (Pronounce that five times fast!)
As
always, feel feel to copy the letter text to send to your sponsored
children! You can edit the parts in bold
to
fit you and your child's circumstances!
Hello
my friend (Name)!
Today
I am going to tell you about another animal that we have here in
Canada... the Puffin! A Puffin is a small water bird. They are about
25 cm or about 10 inches long. They are very common on the island of
Newfoundland, where
I live (obviously you can leave this part out if you're not from
Newfoundland!)
A
Puffin is very easy to recognize. They have black backs and white
bellies, with bright orange feet that are webbed like a duck's feet.
This helps them to swim very well. They are also excellent divers and
can swim a long way under water! A Puffin's most interesting feature
is its beak, which is big and brightly coloured.
A
Puffin's beak helps it to catch tiny fish, which it eats. I am
including a photo of a puffin holding several fish in it's mouth!
Puffins are sea birds, so they never travel very far from the ocean!
Puffins also have waterproof feathers, which protect them as they
swim in the freezing cold ocean.
Puffins
can live for up to 20 years, and a male and female Puffin couple will
usually stay together their whole lives!
Puffins
are very interesting because they don't build nests like regular
birds. Instead, they dig holes in the ground! A Puffin may dig its
own hole, or it may take over an empty rabbit burrow or a hole dug by
another animal. Female Puffins lay only one egg at a time. After
36-45 days, the egg hatches and a little baby Puffin called a
"Puffling" comes out! Both the mother and father Puffin
work together to take care of the egg and the baby Puffling.
Puffins
are very funny birds. Their eyes and brightly coloured beaks often
look as if they are smiling. Puffins love to eat fish and sometimes,
they are greedy and will eat so many fish that they get too heavy to
fly! Then they must sit and wait a little while until they can fly
again.
I
am sending you some Puffin pictures and activities... I hope you have
a lot of fun with them!
I
hope you enjoyed learning about these cute and funny birds! What kind
of birds do you have in your country?
Your
friend, (Your
name)
If
you're looking for photos to include with your letter, there are some
great pictures on Wikimedia Commons! Check out their Puffin entry!
Pixabay also has tons of gorgeous Puffin photos that are free to use!
With
my letter, I included this gorgeous Puffin Maze from Paul M. Woodruff!
At SuperColoring, you can find a pile of neat Puffin coloring sheets!
How
about a Puffin worksheet? This is great for kids that are old enough
to write on their own and make a list of everything they've learned
about puffins!
If
you have kids that speak English, they might enjoy this Puffin word worksheet! How many words can you make from "Atlantic Puffin"?
Now
this is super cool! How about a Puffin paper bag puppet? (Make sure
to check the mailing guidelines of the organization you sponsor
through to see if these can be sent!)
Coloring.ws has a neat color-by-number Puffin!
Last
but not least, Connect the Dots 101 has a big selection of Puffin connect-the-dots!
Have
fun writing to your kids!
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