The Very Quiet Cricket Unit Activities (Inspired by the Eric Carle book!)

This fun unit study inspired the The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle is part of the Children’s Literature Unit Study series here at Proverbial Homemaker!

The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle was one of my oldest son’s favorite books when he was small, and now my preschoolers get to enjoy it. The world of Eric Carle is playful and full of beautiful whimsy. I’ve always enjoyed looking through the beautifully painted pages with the kids.

Looking at the artistic pages will no doubt inspire children to do some arts and crafts of their own. I’ve compiled some fun activities and learning opportunities to take The Very Quiet Cricket from just fun reading time to a full blown unit study.

The book is available at most libraries and wherever books are sold.

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The Very Quiet Cricket is the story of a young cricket who is unable to respond to the new friends he meets. Try though he may, no sound will come when he rubs his wings together. After meeting a series of other insects, he meets a female cricket and finally can say hello!

The fun story has a few repeating words that will have your children reading along with you in no time.

Nature/Science

Download this free printable insect activity book from Homeschool Compass.
Go on a bug hunt! This can be as simple as looking in the backyard or going to a park. Be the sure to take along an insect viewer/catching kit.
If the weather isn’t ideal for going outside, you can listen to some bug sounds on this fun site called Songs of Insects.
Learn and color the different anatomy of a cricket
Go to a local pet shop and buy some crickets. They’re super cheap and you can let them go in the backyard when you’ve finished observing them.

Language Arts

Print these story sequence cards from Making Learning Fun and watch as your child recreates the story
Create Retell Literacy Center like the one from Kindergarten Works
Use these insect poems for copywork or dictation

Art

Make a cricket collage like this one from Teaching Mama
Trace and color these fun insect pages
Make a toilet roll cricket
Or how about some giant bug wings
Color, cut and put back together this cricket puzzle

Special Insect-Inspired Snacks

These adorable Peanut Butter Honey Bee Balls from Totally Tots
Backyard Bug Snacks from The Crafting Chicks
These fun Creepy Crawly Cookies
Butterfly Quesadillas from Creative Kid Snacks

More Fun things to do!

Hold some bug Olympics or do some buggy Movement Activities
Use a violin or similar instrument to show your children how crickets make their sound
No violins? Make these Tin Can Phones from Not Just Cute for a similar effect
Printable worksheets to go along with The Very Quiet Cricket from Homeschool Share

Books to go along with The Very Quiet Cricket

This post was originally a guest post by Jen from Large Family Frugal Living. It has since been updated to add new resources and remove broken links.

“Hi, I’m Jen! I’m a homeschool mama of six. I spend my days learning alongside my children, attempting to sew, and striving to honor my husband and Jesus Christ. Join me at Large Family Frugal Living where I write about homeschooling and large family life, share yummy recipes, and hopefully encourage you along the way!”