The Very Hungry Caterpillar Classroom Activities

Let's face it; it's not just kids who love The Very Hungry Caterpillar. This delightful Eric Carle book has captured the hearts of kids and adults alike. Designing classroom activities around The Very Hungry Caterpillar theme engages children and provides plenty of opportunities to practice academic skills while having fun.

Reading Time

Prepare caterpillars ahead of time for young elementary students. Cut a 4 to 6 inch section of green ribbon. Tie a red bead to the end of the ribbon. You may wish to add eyes to the red bead with a permanent marker, to create a wiggly caterpillar.

Check that the bead is small enough to thread through the holes in your classroom edition of The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Provide each student with a ribbon caterpillar at story time. Allow them to take turns threading their Very Hungry Caterpillar through the holes in the book as you read or challenge them to retell the story while weaving the caterpillar through the pages.

Sequencing Events/ Retelling the Story

Cut out picture of the food The Very Hungry Caterpillar eats in the book. Glue the pictures to a piece of card stock or index paper. Write the numeral to represent the number of pieces he ate beside the picture.

Laminate and carefully cut around the picture leaving the numeral intact. Glue a magnet dot to the back of each image.

Allow children to retell the story sequencing the events as they place the appropriate picture and numeral on the white board.

Crafts

Provide children with six green pompoms and one red pompom. Challenge them to glue the pompoms onto construction paper to create The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Add wiggly eyes to complete the caterpillar.

Room Decorations

Purchase six green balloons and one red balloon. Small round balloons work best, but any size will do. Blow up the balloons to the same size and tie off the ends. Tie a length of fish line to the top of the balloon and suspend them from the ceiling so they line up like a green caterpillar with a red head. A piece of double-sided tape tucked between the balloons keeps them in line and prevents them from wiggly. add facial features and legs with construction paper or draw them on with a permanent marker.

Display in area where children can view it easily. Suspended over a reading nook creates an attractive display.

Snack Time

For Very Hungry Caterpillar party, serve a selection of foods that he ate his way through in the book. To add a delightful twist, use a ½-inch drill bit to drill a hole through a few of the food items before displaying as a centerpiece.