by:  Cindy Presley CCC-SLP and Kristina Young, CF-SLP
Reprinted with permission of the authors as it appeared on their blog, The Speech Ladies

We wanted to share with you a great sequencing activity for little ones. If you go here you can download pictures that go along with Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar (there are also some other neat activities on this website as well). These make for a fun sequencing activity! Read through the story with your student and then have them glue the pictures in order as they re-tell you the story, and if they more visuals to help them remember just look through the book again. This helps to build language skills, and this book provides so many topics to explore.

First, the book offers some new vocabulary such as tiny, caterpillar, stomachache, nibble, cocoon, and so many more! Always talk about the book you are reading and try to explain words that may be new or unfamiliar to the kids!

Compare and contrast the caterpillar what the caterpillar looked like in the beginning of the story and at the end. And of course compare the caterpillar and butterfly.

Some questions to ask the student:

·         Why was the caterpillar hungry?

·         What did he eat?

·         What do you like to eat?

·         What does the caterpillar look like?

·         How does he change?

·         What do you think will happen?

·         Were you surprised by the end?

·         Do you grow like the caterpillar did?

·         Why did he have a stomachache?

·         Have you ever had a stomachache?

·         How did it feel?

And don’t forget about all the categories in this story! Colors, fruits, numbers, sweets, etc.

Some fun activities that go along with the book include drawing the story out, act it out, go on a nature walk to look for caterpillars and butterflies, go to the grocery store and look for the foods that were in the book, make a chart of all the food you eat in a day, or go to a butterfly exhibit.

This book is one our favorites for so many reasons! It is so important for parents to set aside time to read to their little ones every day! What are your favorite books to read with your kids?

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