20+ Eric Carle Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers

 Inside: These Eric Carle activities are so much fun, and go with his favorite books. A great way to connect literacy to the art center!

Literacy is a very important part of our toddler and preschool curriculum. We read several books each day and often will invite the children to create a craft that connects to one of them.

Our 3 year olds also enjoy circle time activities that go with the books, and we will also extend related activities to other areas of our classroom, such as the light table and writing table. This is a fun way to learn the alphabet through play!

Our goal is to set a firm foundation for the love of books that will stay with our students their entire lives.

The Grouchy Ladybug: Add some counting to this ladybug craft after reading the book.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?: Grab a brown paper bag and some paper plates to make a brown bear mask. (Toddler Approved)

The Very Busy Spider: Put together a spider food craft with crackers . (The Cinnamon Mom)

The Very Busy Spider: Thread spiderwebs out of yarn across a paper plate. (Teach Preschool)

Mister Seahorse: A marbled paint effect makes these seahorses so colorful! (I Heart Crafty Things)

The Very Quiet Cricket: Paint a paper tube green to make a cute cricket. (Ramblings of a Crazy Woman)

The Very Hungry Caterpillar: Practice visual discrimination with a letter sorts activity. (Growing Book by Book)

The Very Hungry Caterpillar: Make and wear a caterpillar headband. (Primary Playground)

The Very Hungry Caterpillar: Remove shoes and socks to make footprint caterpillars. (Rubber Boots and Elf Shoes)

The Tiny Seed: Create either a stained glass flower or or a multiple texture flower. (3 Dinosaurs)

The Tiny Seed: Use a paper cup to make pop-out flowers. (Toddler Approved)

A House for Hermit Crab: Make a colorful crab out of a paper plate and a handprint. (J Daniel 4’s Mom)

The Mixed-Up Chameleon: Add texture on top of paint to create colorful chameleons. (Meri Cherry)

Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?: Create a polar bear mask with a paper plate and an empty fruit cup. (I Heart Crafty Things)

The Grouchy Ladybug: Make a 3-dimensional ladybug out of construction paper. (Tippytoe Crafts)

The Very Lonely Firefly: Neon bandaids make cool fireflies! (No Time for Flashcards)

10 Rubber Ducks: Glue yellow tissue paper on a paper plate to make a duck. (Glued to My Crafts)

Little Cloud: Whip up some glue and shaving cream to make clouds. (I Can Teach My Child)

Little Cloud: Use a cloud template and cotton balls to paint clouds in the sky. (Kids Activities Blog)

More resources:

• 10 Simple Eric Carle Activities for Toddlers (Lemon Lime Adventures)
• A Collection of Montessori-Inspired Eric Carle Activities (Living Montessori Now)