I think caterpillars are especially cool!
It wasn’t until starting to prepare this module for the Grandpa Goff Bug Club that I started looking for opportunities to have an encounter with a caterpillar, and sure enough, I didn’t have to look very hard.
Caterpillar Painting
But if you aren’t quite as lucky as I was on this day to find a caterpillar literally crossing my path, you can still have some fun introducing the concept of caterpillars in other fun ways. Here’s a simple caterpillar painting activity you can try with supplies you probably already have around the house. You’ll need:
- Washable acrylic paint
- A mini muffin pan
- Cotton Balls
- Clothes Pins
- Heavy Construction Paper
- A painting smock, apron, or old T-shirt
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The process is simple. Simply add different colors of acrylic paints into several of the openings in the muffin tin. Clip a cotton ball into the clothes pin–one for each color in your “paint palette.”
Once your paintbrushes are assembled, it’s time to paint. You can create an example of your own for your child to try to imitate, but it will probably be a lot more fun for them to just start “dipping and dotting.”
The thing I loved about this caterpillar painting activity was that it is a low-pressure arts and crafts experience. I have always loved painting with my kids and grandkids, but watercolors and brushes were a little tricky for my youngest children to master. This painting method kind of simplifies the process making it possible to just add blobs of color to a page. Kate (age 3) was pretty good at grasping the concept of lining her dots up. Brooklyn, on the other hand (age 2), was only interested in making dots:
Below is my personal version, and I have to admit that it was satisfying to create my own caterpillar:
This was a great activity for helping me to think about how the process is maybe more important than the end result. Especially when we are talking about creating experiences. I’m sure we’ll paint like this again in the future since it was so fun and cleanup was so easy. On this day, it was all about spending time together doing something everyone could enjoy. Hopefully your own caterpillar crafting day will be just as engaging for you and your little ones.
