Abby Klein - The Penguin Problem

I know! Chloe squealed as she waved her hand wildly in the air. Hey, watch it! Max snapped. Youre going to poke me in the eye. I am not, said Chloe. Yes you are, you little fancy-pants. Wushy. Wushy.

Max, please come sit over here. She pointed to a place on the rug right next to her. But shes the one who almost hit me. Well, then this spot will be perfect for you. Chloe wont be able to reach you here, so you wont have to worry about being bumped by accident. But Max, Im not asking you.

Im telling you, said Mrs. Wushy. Lets go. Its not fair, Max mumbled under his breath, and then he slowly got up and moved over next to the teacher. Now, where were we? asked Mrs. Wushy.

You were asking us what we learned about penguins, said Jessie. Thank you, Jessie, said Mrs. Wushy. Chloe waved her hand wildly again. Oooooo, oooooo, oooooo! Chloe, you need to raise your hand quietly and wait to be called on. Im going to call on someone with a quiet hand.

Robbie, my best friend, who is a walking encyclopedia, was sitting quietly with his hand raised. Robbie, said Mrs. Wushy, what have you learned about penguins? Penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere in places like Antarctica, South Africa, and New Zealand. Excellent, Robbie. You are absolutely right. Mrs. Mrs.

Wushy wrote Robbies fact on the chart. You are such a brain, I whispered to Robbie. I think youre the smartest person I know. Robbie smiled. Thanks. Chloe was still oooo, oooo, oooing, so Mrs.

Wushy called on Jessie next. Jessie? Penguins are really good swimmers, but they cant breathe underwater. Thats right, Jessie. Penguins dont have gills like fish. They have lungs, so they have to come to the surface of the water to breathe air. I will write that on the chart.

Chloe had finally stopped squealing, so Mrs. Wushy called on her. Penguins eat fish, krill, or squid, Chloe said. That sounds so disgusting to me. Im glad Im not a penguin. She twirled her curls around her finger.

And remember, said Mrs. Wushy, we read that they swallow their food whole. Cool, said Max. I once tried to swallow a hot dog whole, but it didnt work. No kidding, Jessie whispered to me. Mrs.

Wushy ignored Max and continued. Who else has a fact about penguins? How about you, Freddy? Leopard seals eat penguins. Good. The leopard seal is the penguins main predator. They are very big and have very sharp teeth. They have to eat about four to five penguins a day to stay alive.

How sad, said Jessie. How can they eat something so cute? Its just part of the food chain, said Mrs. Wushy. They are hungry, and they need to eat to stay warm. Lets see who hasnt said anything yet? Max, how about you? I um I wasnt raising my hand. I know, said Mrs.

Wushy, but Id like everyone to come up with something for the chart. Ummm oh, I know! he said. Penguins lay eggs. Do you remember how many eggs a penguin lays at a time? Ummm uhhhh I , Max stammered. Two eggs! Chloe interrupted. Penguins lay two eggs! Be quiet! yelled Max.

Its not your turn. Its my turn. But you didnt know the answer, Chloe said. Oh, yes I did! No you didnt, or else you would have said it. Max and Chloe, said Mrs. Wushy, you both need to stop this right now.

No more arguing. Chloe, you interrupted Max, and that is not polite. Yeah, said Max. But he was taking forever, Chloe said. You had your turn, said Mrs. Wushy.

You need to let other people have their turns. I dont think she knows how to take turns, Jessie whispered to me. If you cant do that, Mrs. Wushy continued, then you will have to sit in the time-out chair. Just put her there right now, Max mumbled. And, Max, you need to leave her alone, or else you will also get a visit to the time-out chair.

Fine, Max said, shrugging. Robbie raised his hand. All penguins lay two eggs except the emperor and king penguins. They lay only one, he added. That is correct. Most penguins lay two eggs except for the ones that Robbie just mentioned.

And , said Jessie. Yes? said Mrs. Wushy. The mom and the dad take turns keeping the egg warm. Right. Since it is so cold where the penguins live, the chick inside the egg would die if the egg was left uncovered for as little as five minutes, so the mom and dad cant leave the nest at the same time.

If the mom goes to get food, then the dad sits on the eggs. When the mom comes back, then its the dads turn to look for food. Sometimes one of them can be gone for as long as two weeks! Two weeks! said Max. I cant go without food for two hours. No kidding, I whispered to Robbie. Robbie giggled. Penguins need to eat to stay warm.

There is also something else that keeps them warm, said Mrs. Wushy. Does anyone know what that is? Before anyone could answer, the bell rang for recess. Oh my goodness! Its time for recess already. We will have to continue this when we come back inside.

We all ran outside for recess.

Lets play penguin, said Jessie. Thats a good idea, I said. I want to play, said Robbie. We can all play together, I said. What should we do? I know! I know! said Jessie. We can pretend that the play structure is an ice floe, and the sand is water.