Learning With Little Critter

1) Read the book with your child.

2) Talk with your child about sleepovers. Be sure they understand what they are (especially for younger children)
Definition is: "an occasion of spending a night away from home or having a guest spend the night in your home"

3) What kind of house might Little Critter's friend have? Talk about types of houses. Here is a good link, with pictures of a lot of the different house types:
List of house types
Be sure to look at modern mansions, as that is most likely what Critter's friend lived in.

4)Point out some of the signs that Critter's friend might have had a lot of money. (Concentrate on the first few pages)Some of the things are entrance gates, a fountain in the front, a large chandelier, a butler opening the door.

5)Ask your child how he thinks Critter looks when he opened the door. Then ask him how he looks when his mom leaves & he is saying goodbye. Look at Mrs. Rabbit's expression when the boys go out to play. Many children are confused about how to describe expressions. Teaching children how to identify facial expressions helps.
There is a great website in the activities section that teaches children how to identify facial expressions using flashcards.

6)What kind of pool does Little Critter's friend have? Ask your child if he thinks everyone that has a built in pool has a butler that can be their own personal life guard. This is another sign that Critter's friend has a lot of money.

7)What are the names of the games they played with balls? See if your child can name other games they can play with balls.

8)Critter looks kind of sad that his friend has so many toys. Ask your child if they think Critter is feeling jealous. Ask them if they have ever felt jealous of any of their friends who might have more than them.

9)Critter's friend's bear is much bigger. Ask your child if he thinks it is more cuddly. Explain that bigger isn't always better.

10)What kind of dog is Froo Froo?

11)Point out to your child that when they go to dinner, Critter is not used to such fanciness. His napkin was folded so fancy that he thought it was a hat. Notice the facial expressions on everyone when Critter decided to wear his napkin as a hat. Ask your child if they've ever seen napkins folded like that. Show them some really cool ways to fold napkins. The activities section has a great site with lots of different napkin styles.

12)Ask your child if he notices another sign in the dining room that shows this family has money. He/she should notice that there is a maidservant.

13)Explain to your child that often when children have sleep overs they stay up much later than they should. That's usually because they want to spend as much time enjoying their friend as possible. Be sure your child understands that if they every sleep over a friend's and they stay up later than they should, they will be very tired the next morning. Website: What sleep is & why all kids need it.

14)Point out that when bedtime came, Critter looked very scared. Hugging his bear made him feel better. Talk to your child about what they like to hug at bedtime & how it makes them feel.

15)The next day when the boys got up to play, Froo Froo decided to have fun too. Discuss what happened. Discuss how Mrs. Rabbit might have felt. Discuss how she looks when Critter finally gets picked up. Explain to your child how important it is to be on good behavior when visiting a friend's house.

16)What does Critter say on the very last page of the book? (Home is best)Ask your child if that's how he/she feels. Ask if they feel more comfortable in their own home. Ask what their favorite thing about their home is.

Activities:

Try some of the napkin folding activities from this napkin folding website:
Napkin Folding Guide

Learn how to identify facial expressions using some of the resources on the following webpage:
Teaching kids about emotions: Games with facial expressions

Using building blocks, see what different types of houses your child can build.

Print out a coloring page of a poodle (like Froo Froo) and have your child glue cotton balls on it. (Great for little ones!) Click the link for a free printable.

If you have a group of kids, play some different ball games, just like the boys did.
Some suggestions:
Baseball, tennis, volleyball, basketball, soccer, dodgeball, kickball, catch

Theme related snack:
Popcorn! When the boys finally settled down, they watched tv. Popcorn is a perfect snack for tv watching!

1) Read the story to your child. Be sure to look for the hidden spider and grasshopper as you read through the pages.

2) Talk about the critter sleeping in the "dream cloud" You can talk about clouds here, and what your child thinks they are made of. Do they think that you could really sleep in a cloud?

3) Ask your child what a potion is. Who uses potions? What is magic? You can teach your child a couple of easy magic tricks.

4) Compare what happened to the critter after he drank the potion to the famous story of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. Explain that sometimes things we eat or drink might make us behave differently (example, too much sugar, etc.)

5) Critter wanted to be left alone so he could do whatever he wanted. Talk about him being a lion tamer. What does a lion tamer do? Where might you see a real lion tamer?

6) Critter liked living by himself so that his room could be messy. Look how messy his room was!Ask your child, "Does your room ever look like that? How does that make you feel? How do you think your mom or dad feel about that?"

7) Critter likes to eat cookies & ice cream for breakfast. Ask your child if he/she thinks these are good breakfast foods? Why or why not? Discuss the importance of eating a good healthy breakfast.

8) Critter never brushed his hair or his fangs and he never changed his clothes. Discuss what your child would look like if he/she didn't brush his teeth or hair. How about if they never changed their clothes? Talk about the importance of good hygiene and what the consequences of bad hygiene are. (Example: lice, cavities, body odor)

9) Critter had a gorilla for a pet. Ask your child "Is a gorilla a good pet? Why or Why not" Discuss what some good pets might be. Discuss where you could see a gorilla.

10) Critter didn't want to go to school. Ask your child, "Why is it important to go to school, or to have school at home? Most importantly, why is it important to learn things?"

11) The critters in the book ate ice cream & fudge pops for lunch. Ask you child if he/she thinks that is a good lunch. Give him/her examples of a good lunch & discuss the importance of making good food choices.

12) Pizza is ok for dinner sometimes, but in this book the critters didn't use napkins when they ate! Discuss with your child the importance of good table manners.

13) Critter never took a bath! Discuss with your child what would happen if he/she didn't bathe. Add this to your hygiene discussion earlier.

14) Critter stayed up late, but he still got tired. Discuss what happened when he realized that there was no one to tuck him in. Let your child talk about the way they feel when you tuck them in. Talk about some of their favorite bed time rituals.

15) When critter realized that he was alone, he got scared. No one was there and so he cried. Discuss with your child what they do when they are scared. Talk about the importance of feeling secure. Ask them who they want when they are afraid.

16) Critter was crying in his sleep because the dream he had scared him. Explain to your child that this is called a bad dream and many people have them. Talk about dreams & what they are. You could discuss the different types of sleep (REM etc) if you want.

17) Critter's Mom brought him warm milk. Discuss that warm milk is often used to promote sleep. Talk about different things that you could do to provide comfort at a time like this. Ask your child if they have ever had a bad dream and discuss ways to self soothe.


Activities:
Make dream Catchers

Learn the origin of the Dream Catcher

Play drop in the tub (A rendition of dropping clothespins in the bottle)
Directions:
Get a toy bathtub (A Barbie tub will do) If you don't have a "real" toy tub, anything will do. Just use your imagination & a plastic food storage container can become a bathtub!
Now, get a variety of lizards, snakes & frogs (toys of course!) A lot of children already have these toys, but if not, the local dollar store is a great place to find them.
Have your child stand on a chair & drop the snakes, lizards & frogs one by one into the tub. If you are playing with several children, the one who gets the most in wins. If it's only 1 child, then let him/her challenge themselves to see how many they can get in each time.

Snack idea:
Let your child have cookies & ice cream just like Little Critter did! Your kids will appreciate it! *smile*

1) Read the book with your child. Look for the mouse on the pages as you read the story.

2) Look at the "Critter Mall" and check out the store names. Ask your child if he/she can read any of those names. Read over all of the types of stores. Talk about Malls & why they are convenient. Ask your child why he/she thinks people like or dislike Malls so much. You can also talk about traffic at holiday times & what the Mall might mean to your particular area.

3) Ask your child if he/she liked to get into the cart when shopping. Talk about the new style shopping carts & how they have plastic cars attached so bigger kids can still ride.

4) Look at the word above the shelf (SALE) and help your child practice reading it. Explain to them that one of the important things about reading is that you can read signs. Explain why signs are important & how they let us know very important information. Show some sample signs (you can print from online or go to the library or book store & get a book on signs)

5) Ask your child if they think it is ok to eat fruit in the food store. Why/Why not? Explain that fruit, unless pre-bagged, is sold in pounds. If you have a kitchen scale, you could show your child how to weigh fruit & talk about price per pound. Do a little math by figuring out how much your fruit would cost by multiplying the price per pound by how many pounds of fruit he/she weighs.

6) Practice reading all the signs in the store as well as looking at the candy descriptions on the shelf.

7) Ask your child where Mom goes when she says she'll be right back? Explain that she went to the restroom and the sign on the page indicates that. Talk about Restroom signs & how to determine whether a restroom is for men or women.

8) Mom made Little Critter responsible for his little sister. That was a big responsibility. Does your child think that was fair? Would that be a good idea today? Discuss stranger danger & how there are bad people in the world. Explain to your child that they should NEVER leave an adult's side. Explain that the better alternative for Little Critter might have been to go to the restroom with Mom & watch his sister there.

9) Little sister wanted her way. Look at her behavior for the rest of the trip. Ask your child if he/she has ever acted in such a way that you want to give him/her a spanking. Discuss alternatives to spanking & ask your child what he/she thinks an appropriate punishment for bad behavior would be. Talk about obnoxious behavior & why it's not nice. Use little sister as an example.

10) Look at some of the things little sister wants. She wants 2 books, not 1. She wants the yellow duck. She wants the red pail. Discuss with your child the importance of being satisfied with what they get & not being greedy. Point out how "bratty" little sister looks & explain to them that when they get a case of the "I wants" they look like that too.

11) Little sister was trying to help by taking the paper towels down for mom. She pulled out a roll from the bottom. What happened? Talk about how the bottom holds up the top & when we build something we always build from the bottom up. Have your child build various things by using blocks, cans or anything they would like.

12) They pass several stores. Discuss what Little sister does. Observe the baker in the bakery and the dog in the pet store.

13) At the end Mom treats everyone to ice cream, even mouse! Discuss how happy your child feels when he/she get a special treat. Also explain to them how happy it makes you, as a parent, to give them a treat. Tell them that treats don't always have to be earned and that sometimes we just like to give things to each other. Also explain, however, that rewards for good behavior are always fun to give!

Activities:
Shopping with Mom
Take your child on a shopping trip with you. Teach him/her how to make a shopping list, use coupons and comparative price shop. Teach them the importance of being a frugal shopper and if you are health conscience, teach them the importance of label reading. Point out sale signs while shopping & explain to them how much money they could save by shopping sale & clearance items. Print out a shopping check list & have them check off what they see while shopping.
(Click the link for free printable)

Shopping cart craft
Print out a picture of a shopping cart. (Click the link for a free printable)
Have your child go through magazines to find things they'd like to put in their cart. They can cut them & glue them in.

Group Game
If you are doing this lesson in a small group (or at least with several children), you can play the shopping cart relay game.
Get 2 child's sized plastic shopping carts (or even hand held shopping baskets will do) If you don't have either of those items, then just give each child a shopping bag that you have saved from your grocery store.
Mark off a start line & a finish line. Put a basket of the exact amount of groceries at each finish line. When you say "shop" the first child in each line will run to the basket, fill up their grocery bag or shopping cart then run back to the next person in line & pass the cart/bag to them. That person will run back to the basket & empty it all out, then run back to the next person in line & pass off the empty bag or cart. That person runs & fills, etc. Play continues until the first team that gives each person a turn to "shop"

Theme Related Snack:
Plums & apples

1) Read the book with your child

2) Observe carefully all of the different types of animals in the class. They are all different. Ask your child to name the different animals & discuss what habitats they might live in.
They should identify a rabbit, pig, cow, alligator, opossum and a skunk. Even the teacher is a cat. Ask your child what type of animal he/she thinks that Little Critter is. Suggestions, a beaver? a porcupine?

3) Discuss what kinds of differences real people have. Example: race, color, nationality.

4) Discuss handicaps & why people might need to be in a wheelchair. Talk to your child about the temporary need for a wheelchair (broken leg, car accident, just had a baby) Ask if they know anybody who is in a wheelchair. Talk about the challenges a person in a wheelchair might face (being made fun of, can't play or do things like others, can't reach things in their cabinet, etc.)

5) Ask your child if he/she thinks of a handicapped person is "different" Focus specifically on a person in a wheelchair. Dad says he is not different. Ask your child what he thinks might make him different? Then ask what things might make him the same.

6) Talk to your child about the importance of introducing themselves when they meet somebody for the first time.

7) Explain to your child that it's ok to be curious about someone's handicaps. Teach them that it is better to ask about a person's handicaps than to stare or act funny around them. Tell them to always ask the person first to be sure that they don't mind your child asking them questions because that is being polite & considerate. Explain that if the person is then ok with answering questions, your child should then take the opportunity to get to know the person better.

8) Point out that the other kids thought that Alex needed help. Explain to your child that most people who are weak in one area are strong in another. Discuss that Alex might have been weak in the legs, but he would be stronger in the arms. Explain how we can always compensate for a weak area by making ourselves stronger in another. Talk about the special olympics & how the people who participate in them have various handicaps, but are still able to compete. Their website is www.specialolympics.org Let your child check it out.

9) Ask your child if they've ever seen a handicap ramp. Talk about how difficult it must be to go uphill in a chair without someone pushing them. Point out that Alex must have had very strong arms. You can take your child somewhere that he can ride his bike uphill & see how strong his legs have to be to get up it.

10) Ask your child if they've ever seen a handicap bus. Click the link for a picture if they haven't.

11) Point out to your child that Alex plays with the same toys as everybody else his age. Explain that just because he is in a wheelchair doesn't mean that there aren't other things that he can do to have fun.

12) Point out to your child that Alex is a very talented critter. Explain that everybody has different talents. Talk to your child about what some of his/her talents are.

13) Explain to your child that Critter was a good friend to Alex and Alex was a good friend to Critter. They helped each other with whatever they needed. Tell your child that it is important to be a good friend and that they should treat others the way that they want to be treated. Explain to your child that friends always try their best to help each other.

Activities:
Have your child sit on a skateboard and try moving it with his/her arms keeping their legs up on the board. This will show them how strong a persons arms need to be to move a wheelchair.

Take a field trip to your local hospital & ask if you can see what it is like to move a wheelchair on your own. Ask the nurse if you might have a visit with some of their residents that might be handicapped or at least in wheelchairs. This is a great opportunity to introduce volunteering to your child.

Alex won an art contest. Painting is an art form. So are crayons and markers. Print out a Dinosaur picture and paint it, just like Alex did. (Click the link for a free printable)

Get a group together to play a game of volleyball

Theme Related Snack: Ice Cream!

1) Read the book with your child.

2) Talk about what it means to "trade" something.

3) Has your child ever had a dog that had puppies? If not, perhaps a friend has had them? Explain that puppies cannot leave their mothers until they no longer need milk from her. This is called "weaning" . A puppy cannot leave his mother until he is properly weaned. You can find more information on weaning by clicking the link.

4) Point out the fact that the puppy knocked the baby over & started licking her. This is a great time to explain how much puppies like to play. They love to lick and get very excited when they see new people. You should be very careful leaving a baby on the floor with a puppy. Puppies get excited and can easily knock a baby over resulting in injury.

5) Ask your child if he/she thinks it is right to bring home a puppy without asking. Explain that not every Mom or Dad would be happy about that. Explain that you should be considerate of your parents wishes when you are thinking about something that will effect your whole family. Adding a puppy is adding a big responsibility to all of your family.

6) Point out that Critter's Mom & Dad insisted that he had to take care of the dog himself. Explain that this teaches him responsibility and that everyone needs to learn to be responsible. Have them learn the meaning of the word responsible. Have them make a list of all of the things they are responsible for.

7) Point out that the spider is wearing a hat. What kind of hat is it? What does a hard hat do? What type of workers usually wear a hard hat?

8) Notice that grasshopper spits out the dog food. He thinks the dog food is gross. Do grasshoppers eat dog food? What do grasshoppers eat?

9) Little Critter is pretty messy about feeding his puppy. He just pours the food out of the bag. Discuss ways that Critter could have been neater about feeding his puppy.

10) Discuss with your child the type of leash & collar critter uses to walk his dog. Critter uses a harness. Discuss the different leash options & why they may or may not be good for your dog.


11) Introduce the word "heel" and discuss the meaning with your child. ( follow at the heels of a person) A trained dog makes a better pet. Discuss the importance of training your dog. If you have a dog, you can work on some basic obedience training. If you don't, you can browse the internet to teach your child the consequences of having an untrained dog. In the activities section of this post, there is an excellent website on dog training for children, be sure to check it out.

12) Talk about being patient. Little critter would have to learn to be patient as he taught his dog to sit. Explain that when you first start training, there may be a lot of distractions. What is a distraction? What distracted the dog? These are only a few of the things that might distract you during your training. There are many others. Discuss what some other distractions might be. Explain that these distractions, among other things, may make you frustrated during training and you may feel like you cannot do it, but if you stick with it and persevere you can be sure that you will see the benefits of your patience & perseverance.

13) Critter taught his dog some tricks. Tricks are a lot of fun to teach dogs. Explain that, again, it takes a lot of patience and practice to teach a dog tricks but it can be a lot of fun. Be sure to check out the link of children teaching dogs tricks in the activities section. There are a lot of cool videos of dogs learning tricks in there!

14) Ask your child if they have ever played fetch. Ask them if they know what "fetch" means.
Ask them to recall if the dog brought back the bone. Do they recognize what kind of bone it is? (rawhide) What is rawhide made of? (Rawhide is the inner layer of the hide of any cleft-hoofed bovine livestock. ) See the link in the activities section to learn a LOT about rawhide & how it's made.

15) Discuss the phenomenon of the dog & the mailman. Explain that a lot of times a mailman can be afraid of dogs, and likewise a dog can be very aggressive toward the mailman. Explain that dogs can be very protective of their homes because they have a natural instinct to protect them. Dogs were often used to guard homes & areas & they may consider the mailman as a person that has come to harm the people in their home. Most times a dog that barks a lot at the mailman, or anyone else that comes near their house, they are simply letting that person know that if they try to hurt anyone, they will have to get past the dog!

16) Little critter's dog kept laying on his homework. Explain that dog's love attention and that when you lay on the floor next to a dog, you are on his level. Once you are on a dogs level, or down at the floor, your dog cannot help but to want to come near to you. They love to be close to you, just as they would be close to their own family if they lived with a pack in a den. Discuss pack living for the wild dog, and explain the differences between a wild & domesticated dog.
Explain that Little Critter might have been better off doing his homework at a desk.

17) Explain that dogs love to dig. They love to hide bones & other things. This is typical dog behavior, just like kids love to dig in the dirt. Here is a good link for learning more about dogs & digging: Dog Digging Explained

18) Discuss the difficulties Critter had when he tried to give his dog a bath. Explain that a lot of times dogs will resist getting a bath & it sometimes takes 2 people to bath a dog. Because of the difficulties in bathing a dog, some people pay someone else to do it for the, This person is called a dog groomer. (click that link to see a cool video of a dog groomer in action)

19) Critter blow dries his dog to get him dry faster. Explain that when hair is blown dry, it often gets "fluffy".

20)Puppy wants to sleep in bed with Critter. Explain that If you don't have a dog to sleep with (or aren't allowed to bring your dog into bed with you), sometimes it's nice to snuggle a stuffed animal instead. Explain that sleeping with something can make us feel safe and secure.

Activities:

Check out the online List of dog breeds complete with pictures & descriptions!
Click here: Dog Breeds

Learn dog training & teaching your dog tricks. See these links for great videos & step by step instruction that is kid friendly:
Training your dog
Teaching your dog tricks


Learn all about Rawhide. Click here: All about rawhide

Make a dog craft:
There are several to choose from with easy step by step instructions found on this link:
Enchanted Learning Dog Crafts

If you have several children, you can play the "dog catcher" game.
The object of the game is to make it to home base before the dog catcher catches you & puts you in the pound.
Begin by choosing a homebase and a pound. Both need to be areas or places you can step on or touch. Choose someone to be the dog catcher. The dog catcher counts slowly to 20 and then tries to find the others who have hidden. Then those who are hiding try to make it home without getting tagged. When someone is tagged, they go to the pound (usually the porch). Those who are not tagged, try to step on or touch the pound and this will cause a pound escape setting everyone in the pound free. When all the players have been sent to the pound, the first one in is now the person who is the next dog catcher.


Theme related snack:
Make cookies in the shape of dog bones by using simple cookie cut out recipe and some bone shaped cookie cutters.

PLEASE NOTE:

"Learning with Little Critter" is a series of lessons I have taught in my home school co-op and have used with my own son. It is thus not authorized, approved, or endorsed by Mercer Mayer or any affiliates.

The book covers & illustrations used on my page are for illustrative purposes only. The LITTLE CRITTER, MERCER MAYER'S LITTLE CRITTER, and MERCER MAYER'S LITTLE CRITTER Logo are registered trademarks of Orchard House Licensing Company. All rights are reserved.

The copyright to the text of this page is held by the author, where applicable. All images displayed are copyright of their respective owners and are used under the fair use provisions of international copyright law