These family and homeschool activities are designed to complement the Ezra Jack Keats topic on BrainPOP Jr.
Author Mania
Have your child pick an author that he or she likes. You may want to visit the bookstore or library together to look at different authors and books. Then read all of the author’s books together, in order. This may take a few weeks or even a few months. You may wish to create a calendar together, which offers a great math connection, to schedule reading the books. As you read together, have your child compare how all the books and illustrations are alike and different.
Childhood Experience
Remind your child that Ezra Jack Keats wrote about his childhood experiences growing up in a city. Together, find an important experience your child went through, such as getting a pet, getting a new sibling, or learning how to ride a bike. Look through old photographs together to get inspiration. Then have your child create a short story about the experience. She or he can create a collage to help illustrate the story. Create a new picture book every year so your child has a written and illustrated history of his or her important experiences.
