It’s no surprise that I totally geek out over books since I am a Literacy Specialist. I love to take advantage of any opportunity to get kids and young people excited about reading. After all, good readers use their skills in just about every facet of their lives and it’s important to impart these abilities to children early on.
One of my favorite books of all time is The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. Most kids can remember reading this book when they were younger because it is a classic picture book that has been enjoyed by generation after generation. The book depicts a very hungry caterpillar literally eating his way through all the pages of the book.
Not only are the illustrations in this book bright and colorful, but they are a beautiful representation of the stages of butterfly metamorphosis. It’s a great way to introduce these science concepts to kids through beautiful and entertaining images. I thought it would be a great idea to come up with an art extension activity that kids could do after reading the book!
The Very Hungry Paint Chip Caterpillar Craft
Materials –
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar book, of course!
- Red and green paint chips
- Black craft foam or black construction paper
- Glue stick
- Googly eyes
- Black Sharpie marker for the Caterpillar’s mouth (optional)
- 2″ circular craft punch
- Scissors
Directions –
#1. Cut (7) green 2″ circles using the craft punch.
#2. Cut (1) red 2″ circle using the craft punch.
#3. Glue the circles together to form the caterpillar’s body (see photo).
#4. Give the caterpillar 1 googly eye.
#5. Cut 4 small black legs out of the black craft foam or black construction paper and affix to the back of the caterpillar using the glue stick.
#6. Cut 2 small black antennae out of the black foam or construction paper and affix to the caterpillar’s head.
Voila! A cute and easy Very Hungry Caterpillar Craft!
Let’s Discuss: What are your memories of The Very Hungry Caterpillar from when you were a kid or when your children first began to read?
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© 2016, Tough Cookie Mommy. All rights reserved.
I love the hungry caterpillar! This is such a cute, easy, and cheap craft! Way to go mama! Great post.
I have no memory of that book-it might not have been around when I was young. Heaven knows I had every other book!! I am an avid reader (as you have probably guessed) and totally want every child and adult to be able to read. My very first ever blog post was about the Literacy Site! This does look like a fun project while or after reading this book.
How cute is this craft. My son loved this book as a child. I still have it in his memory box.
My kids love the hungry caterpillar and all of the Eric Carle books. This craft is such a great idea I will have to try it with the kids.
You did a truly amazing job with your caterpillar. Very good way of getting younger kids into the whole reading thing.
Oh my word, that is absolutely adorable! What a cute idea. I think there are a so many fun ways you could incorporate the paint chips into crafts with stories!
That looks very fun and educational. I haven’t heard of the hungry caterpillar before. Of course, I wouldn’t, since my daughter is fully grown now. I don’t have any kids to enjoy this with. I guess I will just enjoy it myself.
It’s easy and it’s adorable! What more can you ask for with a craft like this! I really think the kids will enjoy doing this too and what’s even better is that you can use different colors of paper to make it more colorful.
That is so clever. My 4 year old niece LOVES this book so I w am going to do this with her the next time she is over – she’ll love it.
That is such an adorable craft! The Very Hungry Caterpillar was always one of my children’s favorite books.
I loved this book. What a fun and easy craft to do with toddlers.
My kids adored that book as they did with everything Eric Carle. It’s so visually stunning, and I love your craft idea!
This is adorable! I am stealing this idea and making it with my two year old. He’d love this. Book Marked!
Oh we have done this before at our house and really enjoyed it. It’s such a fun project for little kids after reading the book.
Very cute use of the paint chips! Many stores throw them away once the color is no longer offered!
What a super cute craft idea! How fun for kiddos!
I am so in love with this idea, wish my kids were still young enough now to do this. We loved that book while they were in their younger years. Ask anyone, I am an avid book promoter for kids reading 😉 Now my kids are major book readers. I think maybe this will be perfect for my niece, will have to share with my Dad to do with her since she lives with him!
Aww, I love that book. I remember reading it with my kids plenty of times! This is such a cute craft!
What a totally cool DIY Project. The Hungry Caterpillar was one of many favorites in our household and I still have a copy of the book on my shelf.
This is SO cute and a great use of paint chips! My Millie LOVES “Hungry Pillar Eat”! I can’t wait to make this with her!
I have twin 3-year-olds who are big time Hungry Caterpillar fans. And I actually have one of those circular punches (it is awesome! I used it for the yellow buttons on a Mickey Mouse craft). We are so doing this. They’ll love it!
What a fun idea! I’m sure my son would love this idea.
This is a fantastic craft idea. I will have to make one with my friends little ones when they come over this weekend.
What a cute craft!!!!! That book was one of my daughters favorites!!!
What an amazingly cute craft idea! I love how fun this would be for my nephew who is two.
Ok can I just say that this is genius idea! Not only is it a great kid friendly craft idea but thrifty too!
I love this! The Very Hungry Caterpillar was my all-time favorite book when I was young! 🙂
Oh this is one of our favorite books! Our little one loves reading! The DVD is also so cute! We will have to make this craft! He would love it!
This is a great craft to go along with the book. I like anything that gets kids excited about reading.