Eric Carle is a beloved children's author for good reason. The variety of colors, the beautiful illustrations, and the engaging storytelling make his work timeless. Here is a list of fabulous ideas that you can try with your preschooler as an extension of their reading. The Eric Carle activities listed below are inspired by some of his most popular and all-time favorite books.
Activity Ideas Inspired by "The Mixed-Up Chameleon"
1. Sensory Bin
Create a sensory bin using colored rice, lentils, beans, and dried peas. You can use pretty much any dry grains, just make sure to include as many colors and textures as possible. Scent your bin with some essential oils. Give your children a scoop and empty bottle and allow them to explore their sense of touch, smell, and sight.
Learn more: Frog, Snails, and Puppy Dogtail
2. Chameleon Zip-lock Painting:
Draw a free-hand chameleon on a Ziploc bag. Inside the Ziplock bag, put a few blobs of paint in varying colors. Seal the Ziplock bag and allow the children to have some mess-free art center fun!
Learn more: Munchkins and Moms
3. Chameleon Counting Game
In this Eric Carle preschool math game, children will count how many flies they feed the chameleon. Download and print the template above. Children can color the chameleon as they like. Give each child 6 "flies" (which can easily be improvised using black paper or black pipe cleaners) to "feed" their chameleon by sticking the flies onto it. This is bound to be an extremely popular activity. The best part is that preschoolers can develop their math skills while having fun!
Learn more: Super Coloring
Activities from Eric Carle's "The Very Quiet Cricket"
4. Join the Dots
There are several free illustrated join-the-dots Printables available across the internet.
This activity will help with both alphabet and animal recognition. Perfect for indoor playtime!
Learn more: Living Montessori
5. The Very Quiet Cricket Search
This activity involves an excursion to the local park. Once there, ask everybody to listen carefully and tell you all the sounds that they hear. Check to see if they are able to identify what a cricket sounds like (this should be taught to them in class earlier on). Then, try going on a (supervised) cricket hunt by tracing the source of the noise. You might be able to capture some crickets.
Learn more: The Iowa Farmer's Wife
Fun Ideas From "The Very Grouchy Ladybug"
6. Grouchy Ladybug Paper Cups
Paint a paper cup red or buy plastic cups that are already red. Use a marker to make spots on your cup. Add stick-on eyes and draw on a grouchy expression to complete your ladybug! This activity can also be done using a paper plate. Use the finished product as classroom décor!
Learn more: Glued to My Crafts
7. Pebble Paperweight Ladybug
Paint a paper cup red or buy plastic cups that are already red. Use a marker to make spots on your cup. Add stick-on eyes and draw on a grouchy expression to complete your ladybug! This activity can also be done using a paper plate. Use the finished product as classroom décor!
Learn more: Easy Peasy and Fun.com
8. Animal Flashcards
Like several other Eric Carle books, this will introduce your preschooler to a lot of new animals. In order to help with memory and retention, it's a good idea to print out pictures of all the animals mentioned and get the students to make animal cards.
9. Cloud Art
Make your own little textured cloud. Trace out and cut a cloud-shaped pattern on easel paper. Glue on some cotton wool spheres and add some blue glitter for some extra magic!
Learn more: Kindercare
10. Live Re-enactment
This is a great opportunity for role play. Get the children to dress up in shades of white and blue to represent different colors of clouds. They can then pretend to float and play with each other as they do in Eric Carle's book.
Learn more: Etsy
Inspired by A House for Hermit Crab
11.Paper Plate Hand Print Crab
This is a great opportunity for role play. Get the children to dress up in shades of white and blue to represent different colors of clouds. They can then pretend to float and play with each other as they do in Eric Carle's book.
Learn more: I Heart Crafty Things
12. Croissant Crab
Next time you have a croissant for breakfast, make things a little more interesting by making it look like Hermit. You can use marshmallows or boiled eggs for the eyes, and apple slices(with the skin on!) for the hands.
Learn more: Edible Crafts
Play-based Ideas from "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?"
13. Brown Bear Puppet
Use two different shades of construction paper to differentiate between the face, nose, and mouth of the bear. Use stick-on eyes and a furry button for the nose. Attach this onto a brown paper bag to create a brown bear mask/puppet. (Make sure you leave some slits for vision and ventilation!)
Learn more: Coffee Cups and Crayons
14. Baby Brown Bear Breakfast Toast
Get some bread and slather on peanut butter. Cut a banana into rounds and have some blueberries on hand to create the facial features of the baby animal. Enjoy!
Learn more: Homeschool Preschool
Inspired by "The Tiny Seed"
15. Plant your own seed!
This is an educational science experiment. Plant a seed in a glass jar and water it regularly. Be amazed as it sprouts and grows into your own personal plant!
Learn more: Little Bins for Little Hands
16. Parts of a Flower Worksheet
Teach your preschoolers about the most basic parts of a plant using this colorful and interactive worksheet. All they need to do is to draw a line from the word to the part it describes.
Learn more: K-5 Learning
Inspired by "Draw Me A Star"
17. Rainbow Art
Take out a template of a rainbow and print it out. Get your preschoolers to paint it with the brightest paints they have. Make sure they understand and recognize each of the colors of the rainbow as you go along with this activity. Make sure you work on a dedicated art table or things are bound to get messy!
Learn more: Montessori From the Heart
18. Glow in the Dark Stars Wall Art
Cut out an old cardboard box in the shape of a star. Cut out a few stars of varying shapes and sizes Get some glow-in-the-dark paints and paint the stars. Once they are dry, they can be used as handmade wall art which can be stuck on the wall above your child's bed in the form of an artistic collage. Time to ditch the nightlight!
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