Wanna very hungry caterpillar craft?
The Very Hungry Caterpillar is Very Easy!
In the storybook by Eric Carle, the very hungry caterpillar eats his way through many different foods over the week, and in the end morphs into a beautiful butterfly.
How to do you make a Very Hungry Caterpillar for your toddler?
Easy!
All you need for this craft is:
Pipe cleaners, scissors, googly eyes, glue, big buttons.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Craft
Or, you know, any old caterpillar. It doesn’t have to be hungry.
Bend the ‘body’ pipecleaner in half and slide one button onto the pipecleaner–slide the two pipecleaner ends through two of the holes in the button and slide the button all the way down to the end. (See photo above–you are making the face.) Keep sliding buttons onto the pipe cleaner to make the body. Again, feed the buttons through both pieces of pipecleaner ends. When you have as many buttons on that you want, twist the ends of the pipecleaner together so the buttons don’t slide off.
Next, glue googly eyes onto the end button.
If you want to make legs or antennae, snip pipecleaners into smaller pieces and twist them onto the body, bending them as you feel fit to make legs or antennae.
P.S. When I say, “you” I mean your kids. 
There you have it! A caterpillar your kids can play with and act out stories of their own making or others as well.
What’s your favourite storybook? Is there one you like to make crafts for?
Tweet this craft to your followers: A Very Hungry and Very Easy Caterpillar for the little ones.
P.S. A special thanks to Mary for sharing this craft at Storytime!
How to Make a Bookmark
My daughter came up with this easy craft. Here’s how:
Take a few thin ribbons, beads, sequins, and hairpins (bobby pins).
Thread the ribbon half way through the eye of the bobby pin.
Slide beads or sequins either onto the ribbon on the bobby pin or both.
Tie a knot to hold the ribbon in place on the bobby pin.
Slide the pin onto your page to hold your spot in your book.
Voila! Done!
This craft makes a great birthday party activity as well as a great homemade gift idea.
Have you made a homemade bookmark? What is your favourite method?
Click to tweet this homemade craft: How to make a hairpin bookmark. An easy craft for all kiddos.
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Go boys? Got paper plates? Want an easy paper plate craft for toddlers?
Gotcha covered!
Paper Plate Craft For Toddlers: A Boat!
This easy boat craft will be a hit with toddlers, and boys in particular. You don’t need much for supplies, it helps fine motor skills, and is fun to play with too!
Supplies Needed For A Paper Plate Boat Craft
- One thin paper plate
- markers or paint
- construction paper
- scissors
- glue stick
How to Make a Paper Plate Boat Craft
- Cut out a trapezoid (the wonky rectangle with the fat bottom) [boat hull], long skinny rectangle [mast], and a triangle [sail] from the construction paper.
- Have your child paint or colour the paper plate’s bottom. This is the ocean for which your boat will sail upon.
- Glue the pieces of boat together by overlapping the pieces.
- Fold the paper plate in half so the bottom is ‘out.’
- Glue the boat onto the paper plate’s fold so it sticks up a bit like it the photo above.
- Voila. Give the paper plate a bit of a tap to make it rock back and forth and your boat is riding the waves–or maybe the stormy sea if your toddler is anything like mine!
Enjoy! Have fun. Play on!
Do you have a favourite paper plate craft? What is it?
P.S. Don’t forget to sign up for the free newsletter of play. Always free. Always fun. Always playful.
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An Easy Paperback Book Craft for Kids: An Elephant
What is Going on Here!?
Okay, I’ll admit. When I saw the librarian at the local library teaching my daughter how to make this paperback book craft I had a mini aneurysm on the spot.
GAH! What. Are. You. Doing. To. Those. Books!!??!!?!!?
And in a library no less.
And Then…
Once I got over my aneurysm I realized this was a totally kick butt craft and I’d never seen anything like it. PLUS, it totally inspired my daughter to research other book type crafts with her grandmother–including making her own book out of triangle shaped coffee filters. So if you can get over the initial “OhMyGodWhatAreYouDoingToThatBook” freak out (I recommend getting an old paperback book at a second hand store or garage sale. Or at least make sure Mom is done reading it first) this is an awesome and super-easy craft for your kids. It would also–dare I say it–be a great literature craft for kids or even a Freedom to Read Week craft.
How to Make an Animal Out of a Paperback Book (Craft):
- Find an old paperback nobody wants to read again.
- Open paperback.
- Read a page.
- Remember what you are doing.
- Find the middle of the book.
- Grab about 10-15 pages and fold them over, tucking the edges of the pages into the spine.
- Read a page.
- Remember you are in the middle of making a craft. Make a cup of tea. I mean, proceed to next step.
- Keep grabbing 10-15 pages and folding them over and tucking them in. Continue until all the pages are tucked in and the book curls around on itself.
- Trim off the part of the cover that sticks out past the folded over pages. Scissors work fine. Teeth don’t do a very nice job. Not that I would know that, I’m simply guessing.
- You now have a head for your book animal.
- Make a face for the head. You can draw and cut out face parts like my daughter did for the paperback book craft pictured above, or use things like googly eyes, yarn, pipe cleaners or paint (tricky, tricky!) to create a face that dazzles you!
- Make more.
And enjoy!
What kind of animal will your paperback become?
Easy Share:
How to sacrifice a paperback in order to make an awesome, one of a kind craft: http://t.co/rNRIEuEJ #kidscrafts #crafts
— Jean Oram (@KidsPlay) August 30, 2012
Is it a necklace or an Olympic medal?
Children need nature for the healthy development of their senses and… for learning and creativity.
–Richard Louv
What’s on the agenda today? How about making nature necklaces?
Or hang on a second… is that a gold medal just like Canadian (and family acquaintance) Rosie Maclennan just won? (Congratulations Rosie on winning Canada’s first gold of the 2012 Olympics! Your grandparents would be so proud of you!)
What’s a Nature Necklace?
Really, anything made from nature could be called a nature necklace–from a daisy chain made large enough to wear as a necklace or a log sliced thin enough to wear as a medallion around your neck–like the one pictured above.
How to Make a Nature Necklace
The nature necklace pictured above is pretty simple. The hardest part will be finding a tree branch or log narrow enough as you only want it to be about 2 inches in diameter. With a saw, have an adult slice a 1/3 inch thick piece off the log. With a drill, drill a hole in the wood about 1/4 inch down from the edge. Slide a piece of yarn, ribbon, or string through the hole and tie it together. Voila! A nature necklace.
Now, to decorate it! You can paint it, sticker it, stamp it, marker it, or… what else? But the real question is this: Is it a necklace or a medal you won in the Olympics?
This would be a great craft for an Olympic themed birthday party. Enjoy!
Have your kids made a necklace using nature? What did they create?
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Hey kid, is that a nature necklace craft you're wearing or is an Olympic medal? http://t.co/GEu5btUU
— Jean Oram (@KidsPlay) August 4, 2012
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