Literacy and Learning: Brown Bear, Brown Bear

READ.

By Eric Carle

This is a story I'll bet almost all of us have in our libraries!  I remember hearing this book read to me in kindergarten.  

Read this story to you child.  Allow them to "fill in the blanks" as you pause when each new page comes.  They will quickly learn to name each new animal as it shows up.

PLAY.

Make some simple animals using a sharpie and some white cardstock.  I simply drew freehand from what I saw in the book.  

Go through the story, and have your child color each animal as they appear.

Next, make some "puzzle pieces" by cutting the animals in half.  

The goal will be to match each animal's front to its back.  

It will be all the easier with the colors each animal has.

Your child will be delighted to do a puzzle that he or she made themselves.

Another activity to do once the animals have all been matched together is to line them up in order of appearance in the story.

First, see if your child can do it from memory, then "check your answers" by using the book.  If they made mistakes, have them re-arrange the order to learn the right way.

So much fun!

EAT.

Create the Brown Bear of this story by simply making a peanut butter sandwich, and slicing four legs.  The natural shape of the bread is very close to the shape of the bear in the illustrations in the book.

Next, cut a circle from another piece of bread.  Use two half raisins for the eyes, and some halved almonds for his ears and nose as shown.  So easy!