Lately these Eric Carle books have been my go to activity to grab when we’re headed out the door to an appointment or a restaurant. Want to know why? Keep reading…
Why are these so great?!
▪️Super affordable
▪️Keeps little hands busy
▪️Small: Easily fits into purses or bags
▪️Have different themes (colors, animal homes, shapes, numbers, food, animal sounds, motion)
▪️You can buy them on Amazon or I found mine at HomeGoods a while back
Here’s a video how they work.
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Want to help your kiddo’s TALKING SKILLS? Keep reading 😉
For babies and toddlers, to build their vocabulary and talking skills, point to a picture and talk about:
- does he live in a _____? (Good for working on “yes” and “no” answers) (click to see a video for example)
- it in simple sentences (“Look it’s a blue bird, I think he’s flapping his ”)
- the PARTS of the picture as you point (“Look here’s the bird’s beak, and here’s his talons…”)
- what a part DOES as you point to the part (“The bird uses his wings to fly high in the sky” or “The nest is his home, it keeps the bird safe.”)
- the ATTRIBUTES (think 5 senses- color, how does it feel/textures, what sounds does it make, smells, etc.) of the objects (“Here’s the bird, his wings are soft” or “Bees say buzz” or “The lemon is sour!”
- the MATCHES you make, (“Let’s find the blue rectangle because the bird is blue- Wow! They match! They’re the same color!)
With 2-3yr olds, to build vocabulary and communication skills you can:
- ask questions about the pictures and turn it into a game, ie. CAN YOU FIND.. (“Hmm…Can you find …something sour?… something that lives in a nest?… something that’s cold?
- have them independently match the pictures
- My Very First Book of Motion would be fun for this age group- You read the word and have them find the animal that ______ (climbs, crawls, etc.) Great for learning new vocabulary!
For 4yrs and up, you can ask more academic questions using the pictures:
- why do they go together?
- what else is/has (similar parts, similar functions, similar attributes)? (“Hmm.. what are some other animals that have beaks?” or “What are some other things that are blue.”
- what sound do you hear at the beginning of _____ ? (“What sound do you hear at the beginning of Bird… that’s right I hear buh buh at the beginning of bird” *My Very First Book of Words would also be a good one to grab for this age group.
- what’s a word that rhymes with ____?
These books have endless possibilities! Let me know at mytoddlertips@gmail.com what you think and how you and your kids make them even more fun!
Toddler Tips 