Guest Author - Diane Claus

The Itty-Bitty Bookworm curriculum is designed as an all-in-one boxed curriculum based on children’s books. The book used are preschool favorites. Each week focuses on a different book and each day has a different activity to do with preschoolers that relate directly with that week's book.

The supplies are included with each day separated and labeled. This makes the daily activities easy to find. Everything is preplanned, simple to use and gives the preschooler something to look forward to each week when the new book is introduced at circle. This saves time and energy that would have otherwise been spent going to the store and buying the material and separating them out for each child.

The weekly curriculum is well designed with the recommended method for the introduction of the books consistent and well explained. Each week has ideas for integrating the story into the different centers allowing the children a chance to incorporate hands on experience that relates to the story, truly breathing life into the book.

Each month introduces three new letters, a new color and a new shape. The letters are not introduced in alphabetical order but in by easiest to write (L E F). This is great if you’re kids are ready to learn to write the letters, but if you have already started teaching them in alphabetical order, this might be a bit of a challenge. My son is not ready for writing yet but he still picked up on recognizing the letters and now goes around pointing out the letter F and telling anyone who will listen what sound it makes. The fact that the letters were not in order did not bother him. The colors are in the shape of a scoop of ice cream and go on top of an ice cream cone with a new scoop each month. In the September kit the shape is the same color as the color of the month. This is great because it does not confuse the child by entering in a new color to differentiate between.

By incorporating each week’s book into craft projects and into centers children become active participants in the story and have a better appreciation for all books. The Itty-Bitty Bookworm is perfect for both the preschool teacher and the parent working with their own child in the home even if they have no teaching experience.

To give you an idea of how my son took to the curriculum when I brought it out each day I showed my son the cut out of Bo the Bookworm and by the second time he had invented a song about the Bo that he insisted on signing as he made his way to the table.

My son’s Bookworm Song:

Here comes the bookworm
Here comes the bookworm
Here he comes
Here comes Bo!

What better praise is there?

For more information, please visit the Itty-Bitty Bookworm website.