The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a classic, written by Eric Carle, and much loved by toddlers and preschoolers. Its simple yet colorful images and text rhythm appeal to the youngest of children (as early as 6 months old with my kids) up to early school aged children. As a mum, I particularly like the educational experience of this short book as it covers concepts of counting, the days of the week and nature – how the caterpillar turns into a beautiful butterfly. So to extend on this book, we created this hungry caterpillar craft for preschoolers.

What you need for The Very Hungry Caterpillar Craft:

Empty egg cartons, cut in half, lengthwise

Paint

Pipe cleaners, cut into 5-10cm lengths

Googly eyes (or as an alternative: small circle paper cut outs, then place a dot in the middle for the eyes)

Scissors

Glue

Paint the empty egg carton green and leave one end to paint red, which will become the caterpillar’s head. To tell you the truth, my school-aged daughter painted the ‘proper caterpillar’ red and green, while I let the other little ones paint their caterpillars freely in whatever color and design they wanted (who says it had to be red and green?)… just let their imaginations run. Allow the painted egg cartons to dry.

When it is dry, poke holes with the end of a pair of scissors through the top of the ‘head’ and insert one end of a pipe cleaner from the top, letting it run through the bottom and out again on the other hole on top.

Stick on googly eyes (or circle paper cut outs) with PVA glue and you’re done – your child’s very own hungry caterpillar craft. Now to get some fruits to feed their caterpillar….

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