Eric Carle

Yesterday was my last day of school.  It was challenging to teach a morning and an afternoon pre-k class AND pack up the room at the same time!  One thing that made it very pleasurable for me was revisiting my favorite Eric Carle books.  The carousel above shows some of my favorites that I've used in both kindergarten and pre-k.

I have found that the entire "Very..." series of books is so marvelous because every single book has something special about it that the kids adore.  From the cricket sound in The Very Quiet Cricket to the flashing fireflies in The Very Lonely Firefly, these books really capture the imaginations of young readers.  The Grouchy Ladybug is a great book for introducing and teaching time.  I really wanted my students to have an opportunity to manipulate clocks as we read the story aloud to them, so I made these ladybug clocks with movable hands:

Grouchy Ladybug Clock

My kids really enjoyed retelling The Very Hungry Caterpillar, so I downloaded Hungry Caterpillar Sequencing cards, laminated them, and put magnets on the back.  They really enjoyed using the book in combination with the cards to retell the story.

As you all know, I love using music in my classroom.  I have found two songs, based on Eric Carle books, that are really neat to use for sequencing:  "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" by Greg & Steve, and "Polar Polar, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?" by John Archambault and David Plummer.  For the "Brown Bear" song I made rectangular cards that the kids held and sequenced by standing in a line.  When it was their turn, they stood up to display their card, so they had to be listening to the song.  One year, we performed this song for the parents and passed a microphone down the line.  The children got to sing their own part.

Brown Bear Cards

For "Polar Bear, Polar Bear", I made 2 of each of these necklaces for the students.  The students stood up when it was their turn and made the animal sound.  The "Polar Bear" book in the carousel at the top of this post also plays sounds for each animal.

Polar Bear Polar Bear Necklaces

I found an excellent resource for Eric Carle information and materials: The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art.  Their web site sells a lot of fabulous games, fabric, furniture, puzzles, and more.  I especially like their Hungry Caterpillar puzzle (my kids really love it!) and the Very Books Block Puzzle.  Check the site out if you get a chance.

I would love to hear about your favorite Eric Carle art projects, games, or activities!