I’m super excited to be hosting Groovy Cat Week here at Pre-K Pages! Today I’m sharing my Pete the Cat rhyming activity with you, but first here’s a little background info to kick things off!
Eric Litwin; Author of Pete the Cat
I had the pleasure of seeing Eric Litwin, author of the first four Pete the Cat books, speak and perform at the SDE Georgia Conference for Pre-K and Kindergarten Teachers in December. I was thrilled to get my books signed by Eric too! He is a fabulous presenter and a talented musician, if you ever get the chance to see him in person you must go!
Groovy Cat Week
My super-talented friend Kathy Griffin and I thought it would be fun to add some “Pete Pizzaz” to our Georgia presentations in honor of Eric’s appearance. We came up with several learning activities to go along with the popular Pete the Cat series. Each day this week we will be sharing our favorite Pete the Cat ideas with you on our blogs, we’re calling this extravaganza Groovy Cat Week. Let’s get this groovy party started!
Pete the Cat Rhyming Hat
Your kids are in for oodles of fun with this game! It’s a highly motivating and effective way to reinforce the concept of rhyming words and engage your preschool or kindergarten students in meaningful learning. Everybody wants to have a turn to wear the blue hat.
How to Play the Pete the Cat Rhyming Game
Here is how the Pete the Cat rhyming game is played. First, make sure your students are familiar with the Pete the Cat character. Next, introduce rhyming words with a simple explanation such as “Rhyming words sound the same at the end, like hat and cat.” Then, read a book with rhyming text and call attention to some of the rhymes heard in the story.
Once your students are comfortable with the concept of rhyming, it’s time to break out the Pete the Cat rhyming hat. Don’t worry, I’ll show you how to make the hat, keep reading. First, select a rhyming story to read aloud to your class- it doesn’t have to be a Pete the Cat book, it can be any book with rhyming text. Then, explain to your students that you will be reading a rhyming story and while you are reading they should be listening for rhyming words. You might want to do a brief review of the definition of rhyming words again.
Finally, teach your students the ASL (American Sign Language) sign for cat, go to YouTube to learn how to make this simple sign. Explain that when they hear a rhyme during the story they should make the ASL sign. When a student or students make the sign call on one to identify the rhyme they heard. If they can identify the rhyme they get to wear the Pete the Cat Rhyming Hat! If they can’t identify the rhyme I let them “phone a friend” for help by using their thumb and pinky finger as a telephone.
My rules for the game allow for only one person to wear the hat per story because too many interruptions don’t allow us to really enjoy the story.
How to Make the Pete the Cat Rhyming Hat
You will need the following materials to make your Pete the Cat Rhyming Hat.
- Blue craft foam visor {I found mine at Dollar Tree}
- Craft glue
- Scissors
- Yellow craft foam
- Blue craft foam
- White craft foam
- Black permanent marker
Step 1: Cut two blue triangles for Pete’s ears and glue to the top of the visor
Step 2: Cut one white triangle for Pete’s nose and glue to the visor
Step 3: Cut two yellow half circles for Pete’s eyes and glue to the visor
Step 4: Use the permanent black marker to draw whiskers and the black parts of Pete’s eyes
Step 5: Cut one white circle for Pete’s eyes, then cut the circle in half and glue to visor
Pete the Cat Books
Here are ten Pete the Cat books your kids are sure to love!
Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin
Pete the Cat: Rockin’ in My School Shoes by Eric Litwin
Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin
Pete the Cat Saves Christmas by Eric Litwin
Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses by James Dean
Pete the Cat: The Wheels on the Bus by James Dean
Pete the Cat: Valentine’s Day is Cool by James Dean
Pete the Cat: Big Easter Adventure by James Dean
Pete the Cat: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star by James Dean
Pete the Cat: Too Cool for School {My First I Can Read} by James Dean
More Pete the Cat Ideas:
Alliteration with Pete the Cat
Learning Letter Sounds with Pete the Cat
Learning Prepositions with Pete the Cat
Simple Story Problems with Pete the Cat
Learning Concepts of Print with Pete the Cat
Follow my Pete the Cat board on Pinterest for great ideas!
