If you haven't discovered the Children's author, Eric Carle, you'll have to check out his creative works at your local library. I was first introduced to his work when I was an Elementary school teacher and fell in love with his books. The illustrations are done with collage and are so bright and colorful. His books teach about animals, letters, colors, numbers, time, and more! The Very Hungry Caterpillar was one of my girls favorites! When Sunshine was two, I read this book to her and taught her about the butterfly's life cycle. We had fun learning about butterflies for a week in the summer and she had fun making a variety of crafts relating to the topic. My girls also enjoy The Very Quiet Cricket. It has a fun suprise at the end of the book that puts a smile on their faces everytime.
After reading his books, it is fun to teach your child the art method of collage. Have them cut or tear colorful peices of paper and design their own creations. My girls have collaged using glue sticks- less messy than a water/glue mixture. For older children, have them write their own children's book and have them illustrate some of the pages using collage. (A wonderful long-term project that you can pull out on a rainy day!!)
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Great recommendations! My girls LOVE his books! One of them learned her colors because we read the books so many times :-)
ReplyDeleteI understand completely! This is why I was glad that his books also come as board books- nice and sturdy! If you haven't discovered DreamSnow, you'll have to check it out around the holidays. My girls love this one, too!
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