Holidays (national or somewhat arbitrary) offer fun inspiration for projects and lessons for kids. Yesterday was Penguin Awareness Day (though I'm happy to celebrate penguins any day of the year!) and I wanted to take this opportunity to shine a light on this fine bird with project, book, and design inspiration. If you have other ideas to share, feel free to do so in the comments below!

1. Adopt a penguin of your very own. My friend Sharon tells me that she and her husband have received several informative and fun letters from their adopted penguin, and that the adopt-a-penguin experience has provided a great learning opportunity for her grandkids.

2. If you’re looking for an adorable penguin-inspired picture book, try Penguin and Pinecone (one of Violet’s favorites).

3. This worldwide campaign to knit sweaters for penguins is old. But OMG.

4. Pudge Penguin. Adorable name. Also, Violet’s favorite little buddy right now.

5. Penguin duct tape. Great for DIY belts and other crafts.

6. Kitchen project alert: olive penguins.

7. Footprint penguins make for a messy but cute keepsake project.

8. I love the bright cheerfulness of this penguin scarf.

9. Pick up your needles for this knitted penguin.

10. And Purl Bee penguins for those who sew.

11. Felt penguin finger puppets make for an easy project with kids.

12. Make your own penguin family.

13. Get out the crayons for this plethora of penguin coloring pages.

14. Penguin activities for preschool parents and teachers.

Image credits: All images attributed to linked sources above.