The Very Hungry Caterpillar Activities – Circle Time/Craft/Printables

I am so excited about today because today I am sharing one of my favorite books with my students, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle! I am sure you are familiar with this book, and its many many lessons. This book can be used for teaching the days of the week, basic counting, even healthy eating and of course the butterfly life cycle. Today I am going to use it to examine bugs more carefully and to classify them with wings or no wings. Of course, caterpillars are without wings, but butterflies have beautiful wings, and that is our simple lesson for today. Check out these great The Very Hungry Caterpillar activities.

The Book

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle is a classic that most preschool teachers like myself can recite from memory. It is a fantastic book, not only does it explain the life cycle of a caterpillar/ butterfly it also is useful for a lesson about the day of the week and healthy eating! Children love the repetitive nature of the story as much as they love the big reveal at the end.

The Lesson

• Print the first page out by clicking here and printing 
• Cut the bugs out and laminate. Add magnets or velcro if you want to do this activity on a magnet or felt board.

Lesson:

• Read the book.
• Talk about all the different bugs in the garden and how some have wings and others do not just like the caterpillar and butterfly. Encourage students to share any other observations.
• Tell your students that you have a bag full of bugs and they need to help you sort them into two groups. Bugs that fly and bugs that do not ask the how you could tell that from a picture?
• Hand the bugs out to each child. Invite them one and a time to place the bugs on the board or into baskets.
• After all the children have had their turn count each group.

The Craft

Whether you have paper or plastic egg cartons, you can do this craft with little adjustment. Click on the images for the full tutorials of each craft.

Plastic Egg Carton Caterpillars

 

 

If you want the more traditional egg carton caterpillar craft, check it out below!

Classic paper egg carton caterpillars

Center / Free Choice Ideas

Literacy Center 

This hands-on reading tray is always a big hit after we read the book. Having the little book helps but it isn’t a must! Check out how to bring the book to life with a few simple steps.

Science Center 

After you do the wings or no wings activity uses the laminated cards for a free choice option in your science center. The children know how to use the cards independently and love sorting them. For this and more science center ideas check out this great post!

 

If you like these ideas you will love the ideas I share in my thematic units. This 45+ page printable units include free choice activities, circle time lessons, and arts & crafts with a fun unifying theme. There is math, literacy, and fine motor in each unit and so so much more!

Click here to learn more and how to save 20% on these fantastic resources!