Brown Bear, Brown Bear

  Brown Bear

             Everyone knows the popular children's book, Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Eric Carle.  My grandchildren just love this book.   "Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?"   The words are so easy for a youngster to remember.   It is perfect for learning the names of animals as well as all the color words.   So I decided to jump off and make a matching game for the kiddos.

        Well,  I found these cute printable pictures on TpT and got my printer fired up.   After cutting coloring and cutting out the designs, the paper was glued to pieces of old faux wood blinds.   (The material used in the faux wood blinds is very easy to cut with utility scissors).  Colored stripes were added to the sides of each piece to match the color of each animal.    Then the picture was painted over with a clear gloss varnish that I picked up at JoAnn Fabrics.

        The title Brown Bear was stitched onto the plastic canvas.  I used the plastic canvas to make the matching game sturdy for play with a youngster.

        Each animal has its on little colored pocket.   The colorful pockets are in the same order as in the story.  In this way the story can be retold by the young child while matching the colors.  

      When the animals are in their pockets, you can see the top of their head, ears, and their eyes peeking out at you.   A guessing game can be played at this time.   Who is in this blue pocket?   Who is in the orange pocket?

     The pieces of faux wood are 2 1/4 inches wide and 2 inches tall.   This is a good size for a preschooler's hands to grasp.

       The empty pockets can be used be themselves.  Can you point to the  green pocket?   You could also find other small objects to match colors with the pockets.   The small plastic magnetic letters of the alphabet would work, too.

        The felt pockets were stitched by machine to keep them securely in place.    (I know my stitching is not perfect, please do not judge me on that point). 

Happy Sewing!

Beti