Learning: The Very Hungry Caterpillar Alphabet Game

The Very Hungry Caterpillar has always been a firm favourite of ours. It’s the classic story of a hungry caterpillar who munches its way through all kinds of healthy and unhealthy foods. He then gets a tummy ache and eventually turns into a beautiful butterfly. With it being such a favourite, it is the perfect base for a bit of educational play. I put together a little game to help to really cement the alphabet into the heads of little ones, so here’s my The Very Hungry Caterpillar Alphabet Game.

The alphabet game is really simple to play. Just print out the two sheets which you can download for free here. If you can, print the game onto card, it’ll last longer that way. Once it’s printed out, take the card with the letters on and cut them all out. There’s a little card with instructions on there too if you need them.

You can either work with your little one to put them in the right order on the board, or you could put some of the letter cards in the right places and get them to fill in the gaps. It’s a really good way of helping to get the alphabet fixed in their heads.

It’s ideal for younger children, but my 7 year old couldn’t resist having a play with the alphabet game too. It was a good confidence builder for him. He knew what he was doing and where the cards needed to be. Like many children, he sometimes just needs to do something fairly basic every so often to build confidence in his own ability.

It wasn’t part of my original plan for the game, but once he’d completed the board he moved on to spelling out words with the letters. This can only really be encouraged, it’s all good learning and reinforcement of what he knows already.

Not only was he practicing his alphabet, he was also exercising his hand eye coordination and his fine motor skills. We also had a good chat about The Very Hungry Caterpillar and talked about how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly, it’s all good learning and pretty fun too!

Download The Very Hungry Caterpillar Alphabet Game for free here.

If you enjoyed this, you might also like my Squash and a Squeeze Story Book Bag.

Learning: The Very Hungry Caterpillar Alphabet Game

This post contains an affiliate link.

Review: The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show, The Lowry

The wonderful story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar is being brought to life at The Lowry Theatre, Salford Quays this half term. The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show is currently on a UK Tour and is stopping off at Salford until 25th February.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar was my favorite book when I was a child and thankfully it is also a huge favourite of my sons. We couldn’t resist a visit to The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show while it was in town.

Review: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Lowry

The show is based on four of Eric Carle’s wonderful stories; The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse, Mister Seahorse, The Very Lonely Firefly and of course, the star of the show – The Very Hungry Caterpillar. His books are beautifully illustrated. The 75 puppets used in the performance are instantly recognisable as being Eric Carle’s creations.

Appealing to pre-school aged children, my six year old was probably at the top end of the age range in the audience. Nevertheless he was enchanted by it, laughing and delighting at the antics of the puppets and heartily joining in when he could. He particularly enjoyed The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse and of course The Very Hungry Caterpillar, especially the bit where (spoiler alert) he turns into a beautiful butterfly.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show runs for a little under an hour. It is just the right length for pre-school children. The audience seemed to really enjoy it, and despite the young audience for the most part almost everyone was transfixed by the performance. There was lots of joining in where the children recognised the story, lots of laughter and a sprinkling of wonder.

Featuring 75 puppets, ably brought to life by puppeteers Adam Ryan, Andrew Cullimore, Sarah Hamilton and Katie Haygarth; The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show faithfully recreates the stories, bringing each one to life with colour, and magic.

Review: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Lowry

It was clear that the colourful performance and instantly recognisable characters had captivated the audience; and it is easy to be captivated by these wonderful stories. I think part of the magic is that these books have a place in the hearts of both adults and the children, and will continue to delight for generations to come.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show is on at The Lowry, Salford Quays until Saturday 25 February 2017. For more information and to buy tickets, visit The Lowry website. Details of the full UK tour can be found here.

Preview: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Lowry

The Very Hungry Caterpillar, has nibbled its way into the hearts of millions of children all over the world. Since it was first published in 1969 it has been translated into 62 languages and sold over 41 million copies, and is one of the top ten bestselling children’s books of all time. Written and illustrated by Eric Carle, this enduring classic is being brought to life at The Lowry Theatre in Salford Quays this February half term.

Preview: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Lowry Theatre

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show will be on at The Lowry from Wednesday 22nd to Saturday 25 February, prior to starting a run in the West End.

Featuring a menagerie of 75 enchanting puppets during a magical 60-minute show that faithfully adapts four of Eric Carle’s best loved books for the stage: The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse, Mister Seahorse, The Very Lonely Firefly and, of course, The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show has been adapted for the stage by director Jonathan Rockefeller. The production sees four master puppeteers weave their way through Eric Carle’s stories, bringing to life 75 magical puppets that faithfully recreate the wonderfully colourful world of Carle’s illustrations.

Preview: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Lowry Theatre

Eric Carle’s books have captivated generations of readers with their iconic hand-painted illustrations and distinctively simple stories, introducing millions of children to a bigger, brighter world, and to their first experience of reading itself. The Very Hungry Caterpillar was my favourite book as a child. We wasted no time at all introducing this wonderful story to my son.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show is suitable for children aged 2+ and is 55 minutes long with no interval. I will definitely be taking my 6 year old. We are both looking forward to enjoying our favourite book being brought to life.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show is on at The Lowry, Salford Quays from
Wednesday 22 until Saturday 25 February 2017. For more information and to buy tickets, visit The Lowry website.

Stories for life – childhood books we love to read

In our house there are some things we do every day. We brush our teeth, go out to school, work or to the park, we talk and share food and we always, always read at least one book together. I’m thinking about sharing “stories for life” with our children, and the kind of books that make great presents – not just Christmas presents either!

When the small boy was Christened, we asked our friends and family not to give presents, but if they did want to give a gift, to give the boy a copy of their favourite childhood book. This meant at the great age of six months my son had a reading library which was full of variety, and each book had a lovely back story attached to it. We hoped that this would cement a love of reading in him. He certainly loves a good story or three at bedtime.

For his Christening we got everything from Rupert Bear and Spot the Dog to a full set of Harry Potter books and of course a host of Roald Dahl classics.

Stories for life

I was the most avid of readers as I child, and over the years my love of reading hasn’t diminished, but the opportunity to curl up for a quiet hour with a good book has. This is something that makes me a little bit sad sometimes.

Looking back, I suppose my favourite book was The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, which is still a much loved classic today. Once I reached the age of 7 or 8 I fell in love with Roald Dahl books and read them all, even the slightly unsuitable ones (I’ve read his NSFW adult books too, but I was over 21).

I’m not sure what books my son will look back with fondness on, but we’re reading a lot of Thomas the Tank Engine stories at the moment. Our bedtime reading is an eclectic mix of the Biff and Chip style books school sends home to read, non-fiction books about transportation, construction and geography (all subjects he loves) and fun books we read with him.

Stories for life

This week we were sent a selection of books to read or give away as gifts from Puffin Books. I think the books they’ve sent us would be absolutely ideal for the the small boy, but I don’t want to be greedy, so I think we will choose to keep just one of these stories for life for Christmas and give the others to other children who might enjoy reading them.

The Dinosaur That Pooped Christmas by Tom Fletcher and Dougie Poynter is about a boy who gets a very hungry dinosaur for Christmas. His dinosaur eats everything in sight, including all of Christmas – but as we know, what goes in must come out! This sounds like exactly the sort of book my dinosaur obsessed boy would enjoy!

Max and Bird by Ed Vere is about a kitten called Max who meets bird and wants to eat him. But Max soon discovers that friends don’t eat each other, instead friends try and help each other, so that’s what they do. Max and Bird is on the New York Times Bestseller list and it’s a very sweet story about friendship.

The Little Elephant Who Wants to Fall Asleep by Carl-Johan Forssen Ehrlin is a wonderful book to read if your child struggles to wind down for sleep and can really help them to drift off to the land of nod. The story is a wonderful tale about Ellen the Elephant who goes on a journey through a magical forest, meeting fantastic creatures along the way, eventually ending up in dreamland.

These are three really, really lovely books. I’d be very tempted to keep them all to share with my son, but this month we are doing a Reverse Advent calendar with our local Foodbank. I’m collecting some small gifts and books for them to distribute to families who have been referred to them this Christmas. I can’t actually think of a better recipient for these stories for life.

What was your favourite book when you were a child?

Fun to Learn First Friends Magazine

Whenever we go into a supermarket the small boy always heads for the magazine stand and spends some time weighing up his options before choosing a children’s magazine to take home. When he was younger I used to have to hide it away until we got home or he’d trash it in the car, but these days he sits beautifully in the back of the car pouring over the contents and deciding what he’s going to colour in or put stickers on when we get home.

This month a brand new children’s magazine has been launched by award winning pre-school publisher, Redan Publishing Ltd. They publish a whole range of kids magazines which you will be familiar with, such as Peppa Pig Magazine, Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom Magazine as well as Friends Magazine and Favourites Magazine – all of which we’ve bought and read a number of times.

The new publication, Fun to Learn First Friends Magazine, is aimed at pre-school children aged 2-4 years. It contains stories and activities featuring popular children’s TV characters including, Elmer, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Spot, Woolly & Tig, Abney & Teal amongst many others.

Fun to Learn First Friends Magazine

This lovely magazine encourages learning through play, with easy to follow stories and fun activities, including early learning crafts, letters, counting, making, matching, puzzles, colouring, all of which are great for a spot of stealth learning and for sparking a bit of creativity.

The first edition of the monthly Fun to Learn First Friends Magazine costs £2.99 and is published on 8th July. It comes with a free gift of a Very Hungry Caterpillar Tea Set, 33 stickers, an Elmer height chart, a Spot the Dog poster and the chance to win a Gruffalo Trunki.

Fun to Learn First Friends Magazine

As you can see, the small boy really enjoyed Fun to Learn First Friends Magazine, he loved the activities, especially the colouring in. He liked the Spot the Dog poster and he really, really loved the little free gift of a tea set. It was the perfect activity for an afternoon stuck in the house.