Have you ever seen a bird that looks like a penguin, flies like a hummingbird, and swims like a fish?

Zoology and Animal Art Projects for Creative Homeschooling Families

March 03, 2025•3 min read

Hey there, masterpiece maker! Have you ever seen a bird that looks like a penguin, flies like a hummingbird, and swims like a fish? Meet the Atlantic puffin, a little seabird with a bright orange beak and a personality as playful as a puppy! These feathered friends are full of surprises, and today, we’re going to get to know them before we create our own Prancing Puffin masterpiece in our True Hues Art World Art Tour course!

homeschool art lesson, prancing puffin clown of the sea

Imagine standing on a rocky cliff by the ocean. The wind is salty and cool, and suddenly—a tiny black-and-white bird flaps its wings 400 times a minute and zooms past you! Then, with a SPLASH, it dives straight into the sea, popping back up moments later with a beak full of fish. That, my friends, is the puffin in action!

The Life of a Puffin: More Than Just a Pretty Beak

Puffins are famous for their rainbow-colored beaks, but did you know that their beaks change color? In the winter, puffins' beaks turn dull gray, but when spring arrives, they brighten up with bold oranges and yellows, ready to impress a mate. It's like they put on their fancy clothes for the new season!

And speaking of families, puffins are super devoted parents. Each year, they lay only one egg in a burrow (a cozy little tunnel in the ground). Their chick, called a puffling (yes, that’s a real word!), stays hidden inside while Mom and Dad take turns bringing back fish. These parents work hard, catching up to 20 fish at once and holding them sideways in their beaks like a living fish sandwich!

puffin, art project for kids, zoology homeschool

The Great Puffling Rescue

Not all pufflings make it to the ocean on their own. In places like Iceland, baby puffins sometimes get confused by city lights and waddle into the streets instead of heading for the sea. But don’t worry—kids just like YOU go on puffling rescue missions! Every year, families carefully collect lost pufflings in little boxes and release them safely into the water the next morning. Imagine helping a baby puffin take its first swim—how cool would that be?

Puffins, Science, and Geography—Oh My!

Did you know puffins live in some of the coldest places on Earth? They build their homes on the rocky cliffs of Iceland, Norway, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands. That means puffins help us learn about geography, ocean life, and even climate change. At True Hues Art, we LOVE tying science and geography into our art lessons.

Time to Make Your Own Prancing Puffin!

Now that we know all about these amazing birds, it’s time to bring them to life with paint and color!

Introducing our special art lesson: The Prancing Puffin! This lesson, featured in our True Hues Art World Art Tour course, will take you step by step through drawing and painting a puffin dancing along the cliffs by the sea. It’s perfect for kids from kindergarten and up (and guess what? Even our junior high students secretly loved it!).

With no prep needed—just grab your art supplies and press play!—this project ties into homeschool subjects like science and geography while keeping art fun and stress-free for parents.

So what do you think? Will your puffin be standing proudly on the cliffs? Soaring through the sky? Or maybe carrying a mouthful of fish for its puffling?

Let’s get creative and bring the clown of the sea to life! WORLD ART TOUR COURSE

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Creative Connections: How Homeschool Art Builds Confidence, Learning & Family Bonds
from Julie True, single homeschooling mom of 6 + art teacher for 15 years

I’ve been there—juggling life, a houseful of kids, the never-ending to-do list, and the weight of expectations (from society and, let’s be honest, from myself). I remember trying to keep it all together, wearing the “I’ve got this” mask, while inside, I felt like everything was unraveling. Now, with four of my six kids graduated. I can tell you this: I didn’t do it perfectly. I made mistakes, owned them, and kept going. And you know what? My kids don’t look back and see the imperfect lesson plans or the chaotic days. They see the love, the learning, and the life skills that shaped them. Today, they’re in college, trade schools, and even running their own businesses—because homeschooling gave them the confidence and independence to thrive.