The Very Quiet Cricket Insect-Inspired Unit Activities

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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.

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.

General

Download this 80-page insect packet from Oopsey Daisy
Check out these ideas from other teachers around the world who have used The Very Quiet Cricket in their classroom

Nature/Science

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 some Bugnoculars or other container to get a close look at anything you find.
If the weather isn’t ideal for going outside, you can listen to some bug sounds, watch videos, or work some buggy puzzles courtesy of Cornell University.
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
This writing activity from 123 Teach With Me is perfect for sparking some imagination

Art

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

Special Insect-Inspired Snacks

There are a multitude of buggy snacks to be found on Pinterest. Our favorites are:

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
And these sweet Strawberry Ladybugs

More Fun things to do!

Hold some bug Olympics or do some buggy Movement Activities
Create an I Spy Jar like this one from The Golden Gleam
Make these Creepy Crawly (Ice) Cubes from Exploring Stories
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

Books to go along with The Very Quiet Cricket

Hi, I’m Jen! I’m a homeschool mama of five. I spend my days learning alongside my children, attempting to sew, and striving to honor my husband and Jesus Christ. Join me at Thou Shall Not Whine where I write about homeschooling and large family life, share yummy recipes, and hopefully encourage you along the way!