Eric Carle

November is Eric Carle month (at least in our classroom).  I enjoy Eric Carle books and they lend themselves so easily to classroom instruction and activities.  Of course, The Very Hungry Caterpillar teaches the life cycle of a butterfly very well, but it also is a fun way to teach counting and the days of the week.  On Monday, he eats 1 apple.  On Tuesday, he eats 2 pears. Well, you get the general idea.   Eric Carle books are available just about anywhere.  Over the years, I've collected them in multiple formats.  I have board books for the preschoolers, hardcover books for the older children, and a few classroom size big books for us to read together.  I purchased three Eric Carle bulletin board sets from Carson Dellosa this year (really wish I would have gotten the other one they have too).    I just love the bright, imaginative visuals of these bulletin board sets.  We have the Very Hungry Caterpillar set (although you can only see part of it in the photo).  We also have the Brown Bear, Brown Bear set and the Very Busy Spider set.  Our whole classroom is covered in Eric Carle artwork - yes, I love it!

The Brown Bear, Brown Bear set is a fun way to talk about colors.  We also talk about which animals have the correct colors and which do not.  I personally like the blue horse and the purple cat, but it is not their real colors.  We talk about what color they are supposed to be and what color they would make other animals if they could make them a different color.   We also talk about which animals go together: farm animals, forest animals, pets, etc . . . This book is also cute with to read with The Mixed-Up Chameleon because he changes colors and wants to be like other animals he sees. 

The Very Busy Spider lends itself very easily to lessons about time (telling time, elapsed time, morning and evening, etc . . . ).  The other set available from Carson Dellosa is Polar Bear, Polar Bear.  We have read this book along with the others this past week.  It is a fun introduction to sounds animals make.  Head to Toe is another good Eric Carle book that talks about animal movement which is a fun activity for little ones.  We all get up and do the different types of animal movement together.  With the older students, we work on adjectives that describe the animals and their movements, sounds, colors, etc . . . as we talk about each thing along with the books.

Kohl's frequently sells Eric Carle books and the coordinated plush toys too for $5.00 each.  The kids love the toys and I love the books and everyone is excited about reading.  Here is Bethany snuggling her Mixed-Up Chameleon.  The Very Hungry Caterpillar is my favorite plush toy, but we also have a ladybug and a polar bear. 

On  a side note . . . I just love fabric charts.  I know, they are too big for most homeschool spaces, but I just love the student interaction of these charts.  The chart hangs up like a regular pocket chart, but the front is a fabric that any velcro will stick to.  This chart, used to teach time, has the clocks pre-printed on it and comes with all the little manipulatives you need to teach time.  The kids love putting the parts of the clock on the chart where they go and moving the hands to show the correct time.  We also have fabric charts for fractions, the human body, a map of the world, etc . . . They are super-fun activities.