The Grouchy Ladybug

by Eric Carle

The Grouchy Ladybug was a fun book to read. It is about a boy ladybug that starts the day off by not being willing to share and wanting to pick a fight with a friend. He then decides that this other ladybug is not big enough to fight and his grumpy mood takes him off in search of bigger competitors until he eventually goes back to his friend who is still willing to share the food with him. At first it might have been over food but eventually his reason for wanting to fight other animals was 'just because'. It is about one of those days where you want to fight the whole world and not necessarily knowing why.

I love Eric Carle books. They are always so visually pleasing to the eye, his books are also entertaining and have a message which can be a great discussion. It teaches a message that children can relate to.

Since Sweetie Pie is currently learning how to tell the time, I felt that this book was completely appropriate. We were able to watch the clock on each page as we followed the events of the Ladybug's day. This book would also a great resource to use along with a unit on feelings.



Activity: Ladybug Cookies

For this activity we decided to make up some "Yummy Ladybugs" instead of "Grouchy Ladybugs".


Supplies:

Sugar cookie dough (divided)
Red food coloring
Baking cocoa powder
Chocolate chips


I made up a batch of sugar cookies from the night before and split it into 2 sections. I mixed in 1/4 of the batch with some baking cocoa power and 3/4 of the mixture with some red food coloring. Sweetie Pie was happy rolling the balls of dough into the sizes that she wanted her ladybugs to be.


Putting on the black spots


Cut into half the ladybug so after it has baked you can see the outline of the wings.


The delicious end result


Sonny Boy's contribution



Thanks for the inspiration - Almost Unschooling