The Very Clumsy Clickbeetle

Character Building: You may want to have your child copy this quote, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!" Discuss this quote. What does it mean? How does it apply to the story of the Click Beetle? How does it apply to your life? To your student's?

P.E. -- Building Gross Motor Skills
The click beetle feels like he is a failure because he is clumsy. Practice some gross motor skills to help prevent clumsiness.
Stand on one foot, walk on a taped line (you can also hop on one foot down the line), play hopscotch, and walk a balance beam.
--adapted from an idea at Eric Carle's site

Poetry:
You will find some poems in Animals, Animals (by Eric Carle) that go-along with the creatures in this book
Turtle-- pg. 15 (sea turtle), pg. 36 (tortoise) This may lead into a discussion on different types of turtles
Snail-- pg. 83
Mouse-- pg. 20

Science: Click Beetles
Read the author's note about Click Beetles (at the beginning of the book)

Science: Worms
A worm is mentioned in this story. If you want to go deeper into your study of God's creatures, you may want to consider studying worms as you read this book.
The Adventures of Herman the Worm (excellent site!)
Earthworm Coloring
Build a worm habitat
What earthworms love to eat minit book (I made this for my son; he drew a picture of each item)

Keeping worms as pets
Gather earthworms when they come to the surface at night or after a heavy rain. You will need about six if you are going to keep them in a quart-sized jar. Fill the jar about two-thirds full of dirt. Put a layer of leaves over the dirt. Be sure that the leaves were gathered from the same area as you found the worms. Place your jar in a cool spot. The jar should not be in direct sunlight. Wrap the jar in black construction paper. Only remove the paper when you wish to observe the worms. Sprinkle a few drops of water on the soil every few days. The dirt needs to be moist but not wet. Feed your earthworms vegetable scraps. Always remove the old food before it spoils. Your student may wish to keep a daily log (nature journal) about the worms.

Science: Beetles
label a beetle

Tons of Beetle Information

Craft Idea: Click Beetles
Cut out and decorate beetles from construction paper. Hot glue the beetles onto wooden clothespins (the kind that have a spring). After the beetle is dry, place it on the floor and push the end of the clothespin. It will "click" and flip! Sometimes it will land on it's back and sometimes it will land on its feet (your older student may enjoy charting results for your younger students-- this may lead your older student on down a rabbit trail -- exploring probability).

Just for fun--Recipes (WORMS)

                    Hot-dog "worms"
                    Cut hot-dogs into fourths lengthwise so that they look like worms. Heat them for a few seconds in the
                    microwave oven. This will cause the hot-dogs to curl slightly resembling worms

                    Worm Cookies
                    1 package refrigerated sugar cookie dough (20 ounces)
                    3 cups fruit-flavored cereal, crushed
                    Combine the dough with ½ cup cereal. Divide the dough into 32 balls. Refrigerate for one hour. Preheat the oven to
                    375°. Roll the dough ball into six to eight worm shapes. Roll the worms in the remaining cereal to coat. Curl the
                    worm into an interesting shape. Place the worms two inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 11
                    minutes until lightly browned.

                   Dirt Cake
                    Ingredients
                    Chocolate Cupcakes (made with a cake mix is fine)
                    Milk
                    Instant Chocolate Pudding
                    Oreos (crushed into crumbs that resemble dirt)
                    Gummy Worms
                    Cool Whip
                    Clear Plastic Cups (one for each person you wish to serve)

                    Make chocolate pudding according to instructions and mix in 1 cup of Cool Whip. Place one large spoonful of chocolate
                    pudding mixture in each plastic cup. Place a cupcake on top of the pudding. Add a second spoonful of pudding over
                    the cupcake. Stick a gummy worm in the pudding and sprinkle the top with Oreo cookie crumbs. Enjoy your cup of
                    dirt (worm and all!).

Eric Carle "Very Books" Block Puzzle

Your preschooler can arrange and rearrange 9 blocks to form the characters from five different Eric Carle "Very" books: The Very Quiet Cricket, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Very Lonely Firefly, The Very Clumsy Click Beetle, and The Very Busy Spider plus a friendly sun.

Back to Eric Carle Main Page

The Honeybee and the Robber

The Very Busy Spider

The Grouchy Ladybug

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

The Very Lonely Firefly

The Very Quiet Cricket

Materials and information on this website belong to the original composers. It may be used for your own personal and school use.