The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Reading Club)

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle is a book that both children have obsessed over at an early age. They love reading this story over and over. If your children are anything like mine then they probably already love this book, therefore it is a great title to start to expand on!

Many of you may already own this book which is why it is the perfect book to get started, if you don’t own it, it is definitely in your local library. It is about the life cycle of a caterpillar but perfect for toddlers. Full of whimsical illustrations, you can not help but fall in love with it. I recommend you read this book to your toddler and/or preschooler.

Purchase The Very Hungry Caterpillar Here

Before we continue, please take a moment and pin this post to your reading board.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Free Printable

The free printable can be downloaded from our library of resources if you are not already a Blooming Brilliant insider than join

For my printables, I like to print them out on card stock, because it makes it super sturdy for reusable use. To add even more sturdiness and make them reusable I like to laminate the materials. Laminating them or putting them into pouches or even page protectors let you be able to use dry erase markers or crayons.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Craft

After you have fun with our printable, try out this fun and simple craft with your toddler or preschooler. Creating something from the story is a great way to foster creativity. Working together is a fun way to bond and learn. Today we are creating a paper chain that looks like the very hungry caterpillar. It involves cutting strips which is great for developing fine motor skills, strengthening little fingers and hand muscles, and improving hand-eye coordination.

How to Make The Very Hungry Caterpillar Paper Chain Craft

What you will need:

You most likely have all the supplies you need already in your home, if you don’t, a quick run to your local drugstore or office supply store should be able to supply you with all you need, however, I have included affiliate links to Amazon where you can purchase everything you will need.

What to do:

First, take your Green sheet of construction paper, using your ruler make one-inch marks on your paper on the top and bottom and connect them. Making columns at every one inch.
Next, have your child (with your help) cut the strips out. Save one strip for later.
Make separate loops, (glue or tape each end of the strip making an “o” shape) out of the green strips.
Once you have all your loops, start connecting them by gluing or taping them together side by side.
Next, you have your chain of green loops set it aside.
Sketch out some ovals on the saved green strip, these will be the insides of your caterpillar’s eyes, with the yellow sheet of paper cut out slightly bigger ovals than the green, this is the outside of the eyes, and make two tiny teardrop shapes for the antennas (cut them out, color the tear shapes brown).
Using the red paper make a medium-sized oval for the head, cut it out and place all your pieces, adjusting sizes if need be.
Then glue all of the pieces together, draw a circle in the middle of your caterpillar’s face.
Glue the head to the end of the chain completing your craft! Make it fun and educational, count the loops with your kids and all the parts you create.