Eric Carle- Week Two

We have started our second week of our Eric Carle Author Study.  Below, you will see the highlight of each day...

Monday:
We read The Mixed Up Chameleon.  We started off by making a venn diagram to compare the two chameleon books that we have read this year (this one and Leo Lionni's A Color of His Own).  We have really been working on comparing and contrasting with venn diagrams this year and they came up with some really great thoughts.  Next, we made our own Mixed Up Chameleons.  I have each child a tracer and they cut out their chameleon.  Then they turned it into another animal, just like the chameleon in the book.  We gave each one a tag that said "I wish I could be _________ like a _______."

Tuesday:
We read two Eric Carle books, one during Math and one during Unit Study.  For Math, we read Rooster's Off to See the World.  We talked about how rooster met so many new friends and how they would all need new shoes for such a trip.  We talked about how many friends the rooster met (9) and how many shoes they would wear.  They worked together in groups to represent their thinking with drawings and came up with 36 shoes :)

During Unit Study, we read Draw Me a Star.  We practiced drawing Eric Carle's 8 point star on dry erase boards.  After we felt that we had perfected it, we drew our stars on aluminum foil with dry erase markers . Why??  They will wipe off if you mess up :)  Next, we cut them out VERY carefully and painted them.  This year, I was smart about it....I had a paint brush for each color and asked them not to blend colors, but to make dots.  They turned out great !

Wednesday:
We started off the day by revisiting Rooster's Off to See the World.  We talked about the fact that this book is actually an addition and subtraction story.  We created addition and subtraction number sentences by picking two groups of animals to work with.

We read Papa, Please Get the Moon For Me.  We used finger paints (always a fun and messy experience) to create our own version of Eric Carle's illustrations.

Thursday:
We read two books today as well.  We started off Math by reading 10 Little Rubber Ducks.  We talked about how this is a subtraction book.  My students recognized that it was like our game Minus One; we were taking one duck away each time.  We used our Promethean Board to show our thinking and write number sentences as we read through the book.  Afterwards, we made a class book to retell the story.  Each child created a page of the story- it turned out really cute.

For Unit Study, we read A House for Hermit Crab.  I found a great craft online.  We started out by making a construction paper ocean scene and added a hermit crab.  Next, we decorated the shell just like the main character in the book.  We used sequins, glitter, jewels, etc.  They had a blast :)

Friday:
We read The Grouchy Ladybug.  I LOVE ladybugs, so we themed our whole day around them.  Fridays are so fun- especially the last full Friday before SUMMER :)  During Math, we made ladybug glyphs.  I really love glyphs and was so excited to revisit them.  Below, you will see our meanings and a picture of how great they turned out.  My co-worker found these on KidsCount1234 by Shari Sloane- she has fabulous Math activities if you have not checked her out, you should !

We made ladybug cookies for special snack- they were cute and delicious :)  We also have a cute how to book that shows the steps:  Sugar cookie, red or yellow icing, Oreo head, chocolate chip spots and icing eyes.

During Unit Study, we made a fun ladybug craft !  We used all shades of red, pink, orange and yellow.  They used black paint and their fingertips for the spots.