The Very Quiet Cricket (again)

I adore Eric Carle's books!   Mainly for the artwork, but also the simple stories too.  So of course I was excited to discover The Very Quiet Cricket was this month's story for the Virtual Book Club For Kids at Toddler Approved.

There's an assortment of bugs throughout this story.  A little cricket tries & tries to greet them, but his wings don't make a sound...  Until the very end, when the last page gives an actual chirp.

--------------------

*  Story:  The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle (again)
*  (See a previous post of this book, titled The Very Quiet Cricket.)
*  Age:  8 months
*  Activities/ Experiences:
          1.  Creepy crawly cubes.
          2.  Bug blocks.
          3.  Watching/ listening to live crickets.

The Very Quiet Cricke

--------------------

1.  Creepy Crawly Cubes.  Filled a muffin tin with water & plastic insects.  Froze it overnight, then plopped the buggy ice into a bin with grass & twigs for a "cool" sensory experience.  We played & played with the cubes 'til Baby K's hands were... well, like ICE! 

(before)  water & fake insects

(after)  bugs on the rocks



Butterflies, Grasshoppers, Praying Mantis, Oh My!



Baby Girl seemed to be so "in the zone" while sloshing the melting objects around, that I was able to monitor her from afar, letting her do her own thing without me interupting.  Although she did check out the plastic creatures, the natural elements received a lot more focus, connection, & thinking.  --Pinched blades of grass, examined the ice.  --Our lil nature girl!

--------------------

Blocks gone buggy!

2.  Bug Blocks.  Stuck insect stickers on wooden blocks while we stacked 'em, crashed 'em, & banged 'em around.  Her latest skill of holding a block in each hand while thumping them together, sure makes this mama proud!

--------------------

3.  Watching & Listening to Live Crickets.  Took a trip to the pet store to check out some real-life "hop hop" and "chirp chirp."

Crickets.  Eek!

Check out more ideas for The Very Quiet Cricket: