Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Easy Craft for Hungry Caterpillar Book

Simple Craft for the Very Hungry Caterpillar
I have a friend who is a crafting genius.  Really she's like the Michelangelo of kiddie crafts.  Anyhoo, she recently shared with me something that has really changed our lives:  Kids get so much more out of crafts if they are based on a favorite book.  This may seem obvious to the savvy blogging world, but I maintain that most Moms aren't like my friend.  For example, when my daughter was little and just learning how to hold crayons, I had no clue what she was capable of so we didn't try anything new.  She would ask me to draw something and all I could muster up was a heart, a star, or if I was really lucky, a Mickey Mouse head.  Since then, I have dedicated myself to learning about ways to keep kids entertained, increase fine motor skills and foster creativity.  So, the in the spirit of my goals, for my next magic trick, we will create a caterpillar out of an egg carton, based on the book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar!

 

For this project you will need an egg carton, googly eyes, a pipe cleaner, and some paint.  I'm a little more craft-challenged than my friend, so I love projects like this that are easy to do and easy to clean.  I bought some paint in this handy plastic container one time and now I just wash it out every time we paint so that I can re-use it.  For this project, my three and half year old painted each "hump" a different color and tried to match the pattern of color I used for the container, first red, then green then blue, etc.


painting, preschooler, crafts based on books
For my little guy, I just gave him some paint and told him to keep the paint on the caterpillar and not on his face (this advice was based on a previous incident where he considered himself the canvas).  


toddler, paint, hungry caterpillar, crafts based on books,

And voila!  Two VERY hungry Caterpillars! 

easy craft, cheap craft,

This really opened up a new world to us.  Look where I found my kids the next day.  To me, this is proof that doing crafts based on favorite books really enhances a child's love of books. 

siblings reading together, kids enjoying reading, kids reading to themselves

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29 comments:

  1. A fun idea for this craft too, is to have your kids glue the letters for their name on top of the egg carton bumps.

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  2. Ah, this is so cute. I'm going to do this with my grandson on my next visit. Thanks so much for sharing and Happy New Year. I have recently found your blog and am now following you, and will visit often. Please stop by my blog and perhaps you would like to follow me also. Have a wonderful day. Hugs, Chris
    http://chelencarter-retiredandlovingit.blogspot.com/

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  3. I LOVE this - great ideas and photos. Link it around - you may be feature yet again!! Wonderful. I want to paint (more fun than writing, I'm thinking).

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  4. By the way your new header is beautiful! And so you!

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  5. Hi, thanks for stopping by to play tag. You can do it whenever you're ready, there's no time limit. I almost opted out also, but then I decided to do it and it didn't take as much time as I thought it would. Let me know when you do I'd love to hear your answers. Cheryl
    Heart to Heart at Home

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  6. Very cool activity! I like how it is not expensive at all. Good idea :)
    -New follower from the hop

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  7. I love this. We have the Hungry Caterpillar game, so this would be a fun thing for the kids to do (although I'm not super crafty... but you give great instructions!)

    (I'm a new follower from the Weekend Blog Hop!)

    Sarah
    http://uberlibrariana.blogspot.com

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  8. Adorable Idea! Thanks for linking up to Mommy Solutions this week! I'm going to feature you on my Facebook page today! Have a great weekend! Crystal http://www.crystalandcomp.com/2012/01/the-mommy-club-share-your-resources-and-solutions-25/

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  9. This is so cute! New follower from MeloMomma's Share It Friday hop. Look forward to reading more of your blog.

    Jen
    www.blogparent.blogspot.com
    The Antics of An Autism Mom

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  10. I love this idea! New follower from Planet Weidknecht blog hop!

    Loressa
    http://lifescuriouswisdom.blogspot.com

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  11. I LOVE this idea! I am going to try it with my 6 yr old daughter this weekend!! Thanks for sharing your creativity.

    Dropping by on the Find Friends Hop - Following you now ... :)

    Tami - The Colorado Mountain Mom
    http://coloradomountainmom.blogspot.com/

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  12. HI! I am a new follower from the hop. Thanks for linking up. I LOVE your site and tips! I am accepting applications for blog contributors if you are looking to grow I would LOVE to have you. Check it out under blogger resources- opportunities on my site. www.livingonloveandcents.com Have a great day!

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  13. Oh what fun! I really want to be more crafty. This looks like a great project to do with our son! Thank you for sharing! Following from Favorite Thing Friday.

    P.S. I saw your Workingmother.com Workmom badge = me too :)

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  14. I think we still have this original craft from 15 years ago!! and it still looks fun!

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  15. so fun!! Thanks for linking up

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  16. our youngest grandsons would love this. Thank you for participating in the Thursday Favorite things hop. I hope you made some new bloggy friends. Hoping your weekend is a sweet one xo P.S. did you enter the pink poodle giveaway?

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  17. What a cute craft, my kids would really enjoy that!
    I am now following you from the hop and would love a follow back over at http://mizzreviewlady-mommyreviews.blogspot.com/
    Thanks:)

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  18. Crafting to go along with a book - what's not to like?
    My kids love that book. In fact, that's what my daughter wanted read at bedtime tonight.

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  19. I LOVE this book and will be doing activities with this in a few weeks :) your craft is soooo creative!!! Am your new follower and would love if you could share it here

    http://www.mamamiasheart2heart.com/2012/01/sharing-saturday-am-thrilled-to-be.html

    thanks
    ~MiaB

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  20. Thanks so much for being the first offical link-up on my new meme, Inspire Me Monday! I LOVE your idea - it really brings their favorite characters to life! Thanks for sharing - I'm sure this will inspire the other moms too!

    Ramona
    http://create-with-joy.com

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  21. Cute!

    http://myhappilyeverafteragain.blogspot.com

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  22. I love this idea,my daughter love this book,off now to plan some painting when she gets home:) Thank you for sharing with us at Creative Mondays:)

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  23. Cute idea! Simple and not too messy.

    I'm now your newest follower :)

    Paula
    lifeasweknowitbypaula.blogspot.com

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  24. What a fun idea! Thank you for sharing it at Sharing Saturday!

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  25. What a fun idea! Thank you for sharing your ideas with us on The Sunday Showcase

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  26. We love The Very Hungry Caterpillar! I have done a paper chain caterpillar before, but this is really cute!

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  27. The caterpillars are so cute! I love the photo of your children reading!

    Thank you for linking to Read.Explore.Learn.

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  28. The hungry caterpillar seems to be a them this week as we made caterpillars too!

    Love it!


    Thanks for linking to science sparks Fun Sparks!

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  29. I am very happy to read this one. Look both really enjoy this caterpillar book and easily put paint in this one. Thanks a lot for sharing this one. Now it's time to avail vacuum sealer bags for more information.

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