Literacy Learning Experiences
3 - 4 Years Old
Book: Corduroy, Don Freeman
Summary: This is a classic tale of the adventures of a teddy bear in search of his missing button and a home.
Activity: Sew a button
Materials: Blunt yarn needle, yarn, large button, and a piece of plastic canvas or burlap.
Steps: Give your child a large button and a piece of canvas or burlap. Have your child thread the blunt needle with some yarn. "Sew" the button onto the canvas/burlap.
Book: Little Beaver and The Echo, Amy MacDonald
Summary: The story about how Little Beaver discovers friendship on his search for happiness.
Activity: Lace-up Canoe
Materials: 2 canoe shapes from tag board or a brown grocery bag with holes punched around the lower edge, yarn for lacing.
Steps: Cut out 2 canoe shapes from tag board or brown bag Punch holes around the lower edge Using the yarn lace-up the canoe
Book: Little Robin's Christmas, Jan Fearnley
Summary: Having given away all his warm vests to his cold animal friends during the week before Christmas, Little Robin receives a special reward from Santa in the form of a "red" vest that he wears forever.
Activity: Make bird feeders
Materials: Pinecones, peanut butter, bird seed, plastic bread bag, string or yarn
Steps: Using a plastic or blunt butter knife spread peanut butter onto the pinecone Put ½ cup bird seed in a plastic bread bag Place the pinecone with peanut butter on it in the bread bag Shake until the pinecone if covered with bird seed Tie a piece of string or yarn onto the pinecone and hang outdoors in a tree for our "feathered friends" during the cold winter months.
Book: There's an Alligator Under My Bed, Mercer Mayer
Summary: How do you get an alligator out from under your bed? A picture book tells how to manage night time monsters.
Activity: Sock Puppet
Materials: Old sock and markers
Steps: With your child decorate the sock using the markers to be an alligator Place the sock puppet on your hand and read the story together. Manipulate the alligator puppet to peek in and out from under your chair to captivate your child. Let your child manipulate the puppet as you reread the story.
Book: Bear Snores On, Karma Wilson
Summary: On a cold winter night many animals gather to party in the cave of a sleeping bear who then awakes and protests that he missed the food nd the fun.
Activity: Have a Popcorn Party
Materials: Large sheet or blanket and popcorn
Steps: Put the sheet or blanket over a table to make a bear's cave Pop the popcorn Take the popcorn inside the "bear's cave" to eat (add some music or sing some songs together to liven up the party)
Book: Green Eggs and Ham, Dr. Seuss
Summary: This story is a familiar favorite by Dr. Seuss with silly rhymes about trying new things.
Activity: Make green eggs and ham
Materials: Eggs, green food coloring, ham, skillet, stove, utensils for eating
Steps: In a bowl have your child beat the eggs Add a few drops of green food coloring Cook the eggs in a skillet Cook the ham Have fun eating your green eggs and ham together
Book: Somewhere in the Ocean, Jennifer Ward & T.J. Marsh
Summary: Ten marine life animal babies and their mothers happily play in the water to words that can be sung to the classic tune of "Over in the Meadow". Illustrations glow with color.
Activity: Oceans in a Bottle
Materials: Clear plastic bottle, small shells, fish confetti, glitter, water, and glue
Steps: Remove paper labels from the bottle Put shells, fish confetti and glitter into the bottle Fill the bottle with water Glue the top on
Book: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Bill Martin Jr. & John Archambault
Summary: An alphabet rhyme/chant book that relates what happens when the whole alphabet comes to life and tries to climb a coconut tree.
Activity: Re-enact the story
Materials: Large paper, crayons/markers, plastic bottle caps or circle shaped paper for the coconuts
Steps: With your child draw a coconut tree on paper Write a letter of the alphabet on each plastic bottle cap Begin the story again using your newly constructed prop
Book: Five Green and Speckled Frogs, Priscilla Burris
Summary: Written to the familiar tune, amusing illustrations depict silly frogs that jump into the pool where it is nice and cool until there are no more speckled frogs.
Activity: Re-enact the story
Materials: Fine point marker
Steps: With the fine point marker draw eyes, nose and mouth on the inside tip of each finger, to represent a frog Hold up all five fingers and begin singing with your child five green and speckled frogs Put a finger down as the frog jumps into the pool until all fingers are down
Book: Mouse Paint, Ellen Stoll Walsh
Summary: Humor and simple design of a lesson in color will appeal to children who know the joy of splashing about in paint.
Activity: Finger paint
Materials: Finger paint, paper, smock or old t-shirt
Steps: Make the finger paint Place "puddles" of finger paint on a piece of paper for your child to mix together for different results.
Book: My Many Colored Days, Dr. Seuss
Summary: Bright, colorful illustrations and rhythmic text tell of colors and expressing feelings.
Activity: Look at me! How do I feel?
Materials: Mirror
Steps: Look in the mirror as you make a "feeling" face Have the child tell what you are feeling by the way you look Take turns, having the child make a face and you guess the feeling
Book: White Rabbit Color Book, Alan Baker
Summary: White Rabbit hops from one pot to another, changing colors as he goes until he ends up brown. This book contains sweet illustrations and brief text.
Activity: Make color "telescopes"
Materials: empty paper towel roll, colored cellophane, tape, markers
Steps: Cut a piece of cellophane to cover one end of the paper towel roll Tape the cellophane onto the paper towel roll Have your child decorate the paper towel roll with markers Look through the "telescope" to see things in a different color
Book: Forest Explorer "A Life-size Field Guide", Nic Bishop (resides in Kalamazoo,
MI)
Summary: Explore the mini wilds of the forest in this photographic nature guide. Life-size habitat scenes are depicted just as they would appear in nature.
Activity: Take a nature walk
Materials: Magnifying glass, field guide book
Steps: Take a nature walk with your child in your own backyard or neighborhood Be sure to take along a magnifying glass so you can get a "bigger" view of the habitats you encounter
Book: Leaf Man, Lois Ehlert
Summary: This book uses color copies of various leaves to form images of different animals and landscapes. This book will help make artists out of all its readers!
Activity: Make a leaf (nature) picture
Materials: Heavy duty paper, glue, leaves and other nature items (pinecones, twigs, seeds etc)
Steps: Take a walk in your backyard or neighborhood and collect a variety of nature items Glue items onto a piece of heavy duty paper to create a nature collage or an image like those found in the book
Book: Snowballs, Lois Ehlert
Summary: A board book that contains collage style pictures and brief text and describes a snow-family and what happens when it warms up.
Activity: Make "snow people"
Materials: Heavy duty paper, glue, white sheet of foam, scrape pieces of material, buttons
Steps: Cut 3 circles out of the white foam for the snow person Glue onto the paper Decorate with the pieces of material and buttons
Book: The Pumpkin Patch, Elizabeth King
Summary: Text and photographs describe the activities in a pumpkin patch, as pink-colored seeds become fat pumpkins, ready to be carved into jack-o-lanterns.
Activity: Carve a pumpkin
Materials: pumpkin, fine point marker, carving knife
Steps: Have your child draw a face onto the pumpkin with the fine point marker Decide who will use the carving knife Carve the face out
Book: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle
Summary: The life cycle of a caterpillar, from a little egg on a leaf to a beautiful butterfly and all the
different foods he eats along the way.
Activity: Make a Fruit Salad
Materials: Variety of fruits (try some of the fruit from the story), plastic knife, bowl and spoon
Steps: With your child wash and clean the fruit to go into the salad Have your child cut fruit into pieces using a plastic knife Place the cut fruit into a bowl and eat
Book: Clap Your Hands, Lorinda Bryan Cauley
Summary: Rhyming text instructs the listener to "find something yellow", "roar like a lion", "give a kiss", "tell a secret", "spin in a circle", and perform other playful activities.
Materials: your imaginations
Steps: Read the book Play a similar game with your child Start with some of the activities done in the book Then, make up some of your own
Book: From Head to Toe, Eric Carle
Summary: Are you ready? Here we go! Move yourself from head to toe. Join in with a host of animals as they wiggle, stomp, thump, and bend across the pages of the I-can-do book.
Activity: Play "Loco-motion"
Materials: Your imaginations
Steps: Read the book Imitate some of the movements from the book Then begin to make up some of your own skip around, moo like a cow, etc.
Book: Ten Little Rabbits, Virginia Grossman & Sylvia Long
Summary: This counting rhyme picture book has life-like illustrations of rabbit in native American costumes. Depicts traditional customs such as dances, hunting and smoke signals. Also, includes additional information on customs.
Activity: Make a 'talking stick'
Materials: Wood stick, feathers, glue, fine point markers, string, and beads
Steps: Use the markers to make a face on the stick Decorate the stick by gluing items onto it Reread/retell the story using the 'talking stick'
Book: The Snowy Day, Ezra jack Keats
Summary: In simple words and beautiful pictures, this book conveys the silent wonder of a city snowfall and a small boy's delight in it.
Activity: Play in the snow
Materials: snow, tub to put snow in, mittens
Steps: Bring the snow inside and put in a tub Your and your child wear mittens as you play together in the snow Watch and talk about the process of the snow melting
Book: We All Went on Safari, Laurie Krebs
Summary: Children will travel with the Maasai people counting in Swahili and discovering all kinds of African animals on a safari.
Activity: Make a lion (Simba) puppet
Materials: heavy duty paper, stick, glue, scissors, tempera paint(yellow, brown, black), and paint brush
Steps: Paint your child's hand with yellow paint Have your child put his/her hand down on the paper to make a hand print Mix the brown and yellow paint and have your child paint a mane on the lion with his/her finger. Add eyes with darker colors When dry cut out and glue onto the stick to make a puppet
Book: The Gingerbread Baby, Jan Brett
Summary: A unique twist on the traditional tale of the Gingerbread Man. Surprise ending will leave your child giggling.
Activity: Decorate a Gingerbread Baby puppet
Materials: brown paper, an assortment of scrap materials, rickrack, glue, and markers
Steps: Draw and cut out the Gingerbread Baby shape from brown paper Use the markers to make eyes, nose, and mouth Decorate the Gingerbread Baby by gluing on the fabric and rickrack Retell the story using the Gingerbread Baby puppet
Book: The Mitten, Jan Brett
Summary: Against her better judgment, Baba knits a pair of white mittens for her grandson Nicki, who immediately loses one of them in the snow. His mitten is found by an amazing assortment of animals that squish and squirm their way into the snuggly warm shelter.
Activity: Stitch a mitten
Materials: 2 mitten shapes cut out of heavy duty white paper, hole punch, yarn, blunt yarn needle, scissors, magazines with pictures of animals
Steps: Draw and cut out 2 mittens from the white paper (have child cut if capable) Have your child hole punch around the outside of the mitten Thread the blunt needle with yarn and have your child stitch around the outside of the mitten Have your child look through the magazines and cut out a variety of animal pictures With your child retell the story using the animals cutout and stitched mitten
Book: Teddy's Bear's Picnic, Jimmy Kennedy
Summary: All the teddy bears have their picnic in the woods on a special day. And if boys and girls want to know what happens the author tells them, they'd "better go in disguise."
Activity: Go on a picnic
Materials: favorite picnic foods, container to put food in (picnic basket, bag or backpack), ball and other favorite outdoor toys
Steps: Together with your child pack some favorite foods for a picnic. Have a picnic in your yard, a nearby park or arboretum. Enjoy yourselves!