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May 1, 2017 | 2 Comments

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

The very hungry caterpillar activities for preschool

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

very hungry caterpillar

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

wings and no wings

  • 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

egg carton caterpillars arts and crafts

 

 

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

Classic paper egg carton caterpillars

egg carton caterpillar classic craft

Center / Free Choice Ideas

Literacy Center 

hands on reading tray the very hungry caterpillar

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 

preschool science circle time to free choice

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!

Preschool thematic units downloads no time for flash cards

 

 

Filed Under: Age Preschool, Age: Toddlers, Caterpillar, Circle time Lesson, For Teachers, Lesson Plan | 2 Comments

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2 Comments

  1. Trisha Cooper says

    May 1, 2017 at 9:42 pm

    Thank you for this! I’m planning on using The Very Hungry Caterpillar this week in my preschool and these ideas are perfect. I also used your Pete The Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons lesson plan today and the kids loved the graphing activity. So I just purchased your Little School ebook and am so excited to use it! School is out for the summer soon, but I plan on printing and organizing everything in manila envelopes to use next year. Thanks again…I love your ideas and how you present them!

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  1. Book Awards Farm to School – Farm to School Friends says:
    August 29, 2017 at 5:18 pm

    […] Circle Time Lesson – Very Hungry Caterpillar […]

    to Book Awards Farm to School – Farm to School Friends" aria-label='reply to this comment to Book Awards Farm to School – Farm to School Friends'>reply to this comment

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