Caterpillar Activities for Pre-Kingergarten

Coloring Activities

• "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" is a book by Eric Carle that teaches the children days of the week, nutrition and counting, as well as the stages of a butterfly. Read the book to the children, and print caterpillar coloring pages you can find online. Give each child a coloring page, and have him color the pictures. Children can use markers and crayons to color their own caterpillars to take home. For added decoration, allow the children to glue colored cotton balls onto the body of the caterpillar to create a 3-D effect.

Caterpillar Games

• Ask the children to sit in a circle, and hand one child a plush caterpillar toy. Play some music, and tell the children to pass the plush caterpillar around the circle. Stop the music, and the child holding the caterpillar is out of the game. Eliminate one player each round, and award the plush caterpillar to the last player remaining in the game. Alternatively, allow the young children to try to toss small plastic caterpillar toys into pails or through Hula-Hoops hung from the ceiling.

Caterpillar Crafts

• Children can create caterpillar crafts using cardboard egg cartons or craft pompoms. Cut cardboard egg cartons down the middle to create two long pieces. Give one piece to each child to decorate like a caterpillar using markers and crayons. For added decoration, the children can use chenille stems and googly eyes. Alternatively, children can use a variety of craft pompoms to make a caterpillar. Simply have them glue the pompoms together in a single-file line. They can use the chenille stems and googly eyes to decorate the caterpillar.

Learning Games

• Print pictures of round circles in different colors and one of a caterpillar's head. Place the pictures on the floor in a circle and play music. Tell the children to walk around the pictures. When the music stops, have each child stand on a color. Call out a color, and the child standing on that color wins a prize. You can also write letters or numbers in the circles. If you say, "Caterpillar head," the player standing on the head wins a prize. These games will help the children with letter, number and color recognition.