1-2-3 Come Feed The Very Hungry Caterpillar With Me!

Because Eric Carle’s story, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” lends itself to “feeding” a caterpillar, I designed “Mr. Munch” as a quick, easy and super-fun way to review not just the story, but all sorts of standards!

“My caterpillar’s hungry. His name is Mr. Munch. He likes to eat all sorts of things, especially for lunch”. Is the poster poem I start the lesson with.

After reading the story, I pass out the life cycle of a butterfly cards, as well as the food cards to my students.

My Y5s absolutely love sequencing and retelling the story “feeding” Mr. Munch, as they drop the cards into his “mouth” in the appropriate order.

Simply attach the caterpillar pattern to the top of a Kleenex box, or large, ZipLock Baggie.

There are 2 caterpillar head options, with 3 size choices.

I included a small, 4-on-a-page size, so students can make their own very hungry caterpillar, which they attach to a ZipLock Baggie.

This is an inexpensive and fun way for them to practice reading words to a classmate or reading buddy. 

Each time they play, run off a different set of word cards on a different color paper.

In the end they’ll have a Baggie full of words that they can read, and a nifty activity to take home for more practice during the summer. 

They can also pull X amount of cards from their caterpillar’s “belly” to do the various “word-apillar” worksheets with.

In addition to “feeding” the caterpillar, you can use the cards in a ton of other ways; as the versatility of the cards makes them adaptable for games, centers, and assessing.

I’ve included a tip list of ideas, including my students’ favorite “Kaboom” game, plus 15 worksheets”, which are perfect for Daily 5, table top lessons, a sub folder, early finishers, or homework.

Besides the cards that directly relate to the story (life cycle & food) I’ve also included:

* A set of days of the week cards
* 2D shape cards, with matching shape words, with 13 options.

* Time to the hour and half hour analog clock cards, with a blank set to program with additional times.

* Number word cards from 0-22
* Number cards from 0-140, with a blank set of caterpillar cards to program with more numbers, as well as an odd & even sorting mat.

* Math symbol cards(+ — = < > ), so children can make equations
* A set of ordinal number food cards

* Alphabet cards showing both upper & lowercase letters, as well as separate cards for each.
* Mini word cards for ALL of the Dolch word lists. Each set has its own graphic so they are easy to sort.

* 570 mini, long & short vowel word cards (60 on 1 page) with a sorting mat and sorting cup game.

* Word family cards for 22 word families, with blanks to program more. Plus…

* Butterfly color cards, with matching color words

*“The Caterpillar Creeps” game, plus ...
* Each set of cards comes with a matching “Itty Bitty” booklet.

It took almost a month of work to complete The Very Hungry Caterpillar packet!

However, I felt it was time well spent, as the versatility makes this something you can do throughout the year, hauling out your hungry caterpillar anytime you want to reinforce and practice all sorts of things. 

Since Mother's Day is just around the corner, today's FREEBIE is a quick, easy & fun Mother's Day "keepsake" craftivity made with a child's fingerprints.

Here's the poem that's part of the card:

"I've left some little fingerprints on just about every wall.  On furniture, doors and windows, I've really marked them all.  Here are some that won't rub off, to remember when I was small.  Because I'll love you forever, even when I'm big and tall."

Well that's it for today. I have an entire pile of weather activities I want to get done, so it's lucky the current weather is chilly and not providing a temptation to be outside playing in my garden.

Wishing you a stress-free day filled with everything you enjoy the most.

"A Mother's heart is the child's classroom." -Henry Ward Beecher

1-2-3 Come Do Some More Butterfly & Caterpillar Activities With Me 

Is April flying by for you too? Here are a few more super-fun butterfly & caterpillar activities that practice a variety of standards.

Since the apple & pumpkin-shaped number puzzles were such a huge hit in fall, I decided to make some butterfly-shaped ones for a springtime center.

The puzzles help reinforce sequencing numbers, counting from 1-10, 11-20, as well as counting backwards from 10-1, plus skip counting by 2s, 3s, 5s, and 10s.

For something new, I've also included a set of alphabet letter puzzles as well. (Aa-Jj, Kk-Tt, Qq-Zz) 

Choose which puzzles are appropriate for your students. Print on a variety of colors of construction paper or card stock. Trim and keep in their own Ziplock Baggie in your math & alphabet centers.  These are also fun for your students to make one of their own. 

Have them trace & write the numbers/letters then trim. They can pick a partner and play "Speed Sequence" with them, to see who will be the first to complete their butterfly. 

Besides these "shape" puzzles, another packet includes 50 regular number puzzles for The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Some are vertical, others horizontal.  They come in color plus black and white and are a super-fun way to review Eric Carle's story, as well as practice the life cycle of a butterfly.

Another math center activity featuring The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a 10 frames game, which reinforces numbers 1-10, number words, groups/sets, and addition.

Children pick a partner and take turns rolling one dice to fill in 10 frames 1-6; then use two dice, and add them together, to fill in 10 frames 7-10.

Before starting the game, children number the body segments. To reinforce number words, have them write the number above the 10 frame and the number word underneath.

If a child rolls an 11 or 12 they get to draw facial features on their caterpillar's head. The first one who completes their caterpillar is the winner.

Each month I do a glyph with my students, so I designed a butterfly one for April. 

Glyphs are a quick, easy and fun way to get to know your students better, at the same time practice listening and following directions. 

Because each glyph is different, they make a terrific bulletin board display.  No matter what grade I taught, my kiddos absolutely LOVED making glyphs.

In April I'm also trying to get my students to improve their writing by using adjectives, which help make sentences "come alive" because they are more descriptive. 

Caterpillars and butterflies are a perfect vehicle for that, thus the reason behind the "print & go" Butterfly Caterpillar Adjective Worksheets, great for Daily 5 word work, or your writing block.  

I’ve included 28 photographs of real caterpillars, along with an assortment of 32 butterfly photos. There are 4 on a page. Choose your favorites, print, laminate & trim, then have students take a look and pass them around.

Afterwards, discuss what an adjective is, and brainstorm a list of words that describe caterpillars and butterflies. Students then write as many words as they want on each of the worksheets.

Remind students to color the pictures, then include those words on their worksheet as well.   I've also included a "trace, cut & glue" option for younger students.

For more word work practice, after students complete their worksheets, have them write some sentences on the 8 choices of “stationery” provided, using the adjectives that they thought of. 

Finally, to practice colors and color words, I designed a 3D Caterpillar Paper Chain Craft.

I’ve included word strips for all of the colors pictured, plus optional spellings for gray & grey. 

Completed projects look fabulous suspended from the ceiling, or used as a border along a hallway wall. 

Since a lot of teachers study rainbows in March, I decided to add a snake head pattern as well, making this a fun activity for St. Patrick's Day too.

Today's FREEBIE is entitled "Butterfly UT Word Play" and features 3 different worksheets with a butterfly theme, perfect for Daily 5 word work activities.

Students fill in the UT to make words; + trace, write and alphabetize words that rhyme with butter as well as fly. 

It's an "oldie but goodie" that I designed years ago before all of the design programs I use now.

Well that's it for today. Thanks for stopping by.

I've got so many "idea piles" on my desk for Mother's Day, I best get to sifting and sorting to see what fun things I can come up with for May. 

Wishing you a productive and fun-filled day.

"The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough." -Rabindranath Tagore

1-2-3 Come Do Some Butterfly Activities With Me 

After spring break we started our butterfly studies.  It was always one of my students' favorite themes because I ordered real butterfly eggs. 

My kiddos could see first hand how they hatched into caterpillars, ate almost all of their food, formed a chrysalis, then in 14 days morphed into 5 painted lady butterflies! 

To study the amazing life cycle of a butterfly, I designed a variety of activities to reinforce and practice this science standard.  Today's blog features 4 of our favorites. 

First up is a quick, easy and fun, "print & go" craftivity, which is a butterfly-shaped, flip-the-flap booklet.  

I’ve included full-color patterns so you can quickly & easily make a sample to share, as well as black & white so children can make their own.

Simply run off the whole butterfly template on a variety of colors of construction paper.  There are 2-on-a-page to conserve paper and make the booklet “just the right size” for children.

Run off the “wing pages” on white copy paper. Children trim, fold the wings up, gluing just the thorax “tab” to the thorax of the base butterfly.

When everyone is done, read the booklet as a whole group to review concepts of print, and solidify the butterfly's life cycle in children’s minds, so that they are able to share this bit of science with their family. 

Another favorite is the life cycle "slider" butterfly craftivity.  

The packet includes 3 realistic butterfly patterns, with more realistic graphics for the life cycle "slider", as well as 12 simpler butterfly patterns, which younger students will enjoy coloring.

The life cycle slider for those, has simpler graphics as well.

I've included full color slider options, so you can quickly and easily make an example to share, as well as 2 black line versions so your students can color their own.

When everyone is done, review the life cycle orally, then have students write the various stages on their "Here's What Happened" worksheet, which is a great way to practice ordinal numbers, transitions and sequencing. 

I just finished a jumbo packet, with a large variety of activities for learning & practicing the life cycle of a butterfly.  

Choose which one is appropriate for your kiddos, or give them a choice. They are different enough so that you can do several: one to introduce your lesson, another to reinforce it.

You could also do one in class and tuck another in their backpacks for homework.

The packet includes:
* A Life Cycle of the Butterfly Wheel, which comes in full color so you can explain the science, then use as an independent center. There’s also one in black and white, so that students can make their own.

There are several options to choose from depending on the age and ability of your students.

* For a center, there’s a Life Cycle of the Butterfly, “puzzle pie”; as well as…

* A Life Cycle of the Butterfly worksheet -poster, with 4 options, plus 2 completed teacher samples you can use to explain what you want your students to do, or leave in your center, so students can self-check their work.

Completed projects make a sweet bulletin board. I’ve included a poster for the center of your display.

* I’ve also included two life cycle “Itty Bitty” booklets, which students trace, write, color, cut & collate; plus …

* A butterfly shaped life cycle worksheet, with 3 options.

* 8 photograph-posters of real butterflies in the various stages of their life cycle, make a nice bulletin board as well. Use them to explain the butterfly’s life cycle.

* There are 3 different sets of sequencing cards for the butterfly’s life cycle.
They come in color as well as black & white.

Use them for sequencing, centers and a variety of games, which are explained in the packet. There's a . . .

* Set of ten, 2-on-a-page, life cycle posters. Use them for a bulletin board, center, or flashcards. Make an extra set, cut them in half and make puzzles, plus a

* Set of 9, pocket chart vocabulary cards; and ...

* A life cycle of the butterfly bookmark, which students can keep in their writing journal, or they can use to help explain what they learned; and finally...

* A mini certificate of praise. 

I had a request for just the butterfly life cycle wheel, so I made a separate packet, featuring two; one with more realistic graphics, which has 10 "pie slices", as well as a simpler, 6-piece wheel, similar to the one in the larger packet, with more cutesy graphics for younger kiddos.  

To reinforce the lesson, I've also included a worksheet for students to explain the various stages, which will practice ordinal numbers, transitions, and sequencing factual information. 

Click on the link to take a closer look at these: Life Cycle Of A Butterfly Story Wheels.

Finally, because my kiddos absolutely love Eric Carle's story, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", I designed a life cycle of the butterfly caterpillar craft.

For one of the caterpillars, students trace and write the words and then color, cut and glue the realistic graphics to the appropriate "body segments".

An easier version, includes cute clip art right on the circles, skipping the "cut & glue" steps.

I've included a full-color "teacher's version" of this caterpillar, so that you can quickly and easily make a sample to share. There are 4 head options as well.

Wiggle eyes, a tiny white pom pom for the egg, plus a pipe cleaner folded into a V, then taped to the back of the caterpillar's head as antennae, all add that 3D bit of pizzazz.

Folding the wings of an extra butterfly up, then gluing just the thorax to the bottom butterfly, also adds the finishing touch "Wow! factor".  Completed projects make a wonderful spring bulletin board. 

Today's FREEBIE, also features The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  Since "parts of a book" are one of my standards, I designed a labeled poster you can use as an anchor chart. 

I turned the matching worksheet into a bit of a craftivity, as children use their fingerprints to make the caterpillar on the cover.  Click on the link to grab your free copy: The Very Hungry Caterpillar Parts Of A Book.

Well that's it for today. Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you found something useful to add a bit of excitement to your spring lessons.

It's hard for me to get into the "spring of things" when it's snowing outside right now! I guess "global warming" has not yet arrived in Michigan. 

Wishing you a supercalafragalisticexpeallidocious day. 

"Advice is like snow - the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind." - Samuel Taylor Coleridge

1-2-3 Come Do Some Common Core Activities With The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Me

Happy TBT (Throw Back Thursday.) Today I'm featuring a popular download to go along with your butterfly studies.  The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eats 100 Things! is an emergent reader packet, that makes for a wonderful extension activity after reading Eric Carle's book. 

I enjoy covering at least 3-5 Common Core State Standards when I design a lesson.  This one covers quite a few CCSS: RF.K1a, RF.K.1c, RF.K.3a, RL.K.10, RF.K.4, L.K.2a, L.K.2b,L.K.5a, K.OA.1a, K.MD.3 K.CC.1a, K.CC.5, 1.NBT.2c, 1.NBT.5, 1.MD.3

Since the original Very Hungry Caterpillar goes through the days of the week, I decided to have this starving caterpillar eat through the hours in a day, so that I could cover telling time, while also covering end punctuation, skip counting by 10s, addition and the life cycle of a butterfly.

The packet includes

• The Hungry Caterpillar Eats 100 Things emergent reader, 2 caterpillar craftivities, a food sorting idea, + 64 circle pictures of food.

Children choose 10 to make a cute "very full" caterpillar.  Completed project make a cute bulletin board, as each one is different.

Students trace and write numbers & number words, as well as the time.  They draw the appropriate hands on the clock as well.

Children circle the capital letters and add end punctuation to the simple sentences.  I've used as many sight and Dolch words that I could fit in, that still sounded appropriate.

Students cut and glue the groups of 10 pieces of food to their matching numbered boxes, as they count by 10's to 100.  When everyone has completed their booklet, read it together as a whole group to reinforce concepts of print.

Click on the link to view/download The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eats 100 Things.

Thanks for visiting.  It's another rainy and chilly day; perfect for snuggling by the fire with a good book.  Wishing you a cozy-stress free day.

"Let the rain kiss you.  Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid ddrops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby." -Langston Hughes

1-2-3 Come Feed The Very Hungry Caterpillar With Me

Review Eric Carle's story, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by feeding him a variety of "food" story cards and a whole lot more, with this fun-filled caterpillar packet.

Use my template to make this cute caterpillar for a whole-group review game, or have students color the pattern and make their own.

I made mine out of construction paper.  You can run the master off on red construction paper and students can cut eyes out of yellow and green scraps if you want to make them that way.

Cut a hole for the mouth, Scotch tape a small Baggie to the back and you’re all set to feed this hungry boy all sorts of traceable cards.

The packet includes traceable number cards from 1-30, skip counted numbers: 2’s, 3’s, 5’s and 10’s, upper and lowercase letters, all 14 adjectives used in the book, the days of the week, the months in the year, + covers so that students can make Itty Bitty booklets to match all of the categories!

There's also cards for everything that the caterpillar ate in full color as well as in black line, so students can color their own little "My Itty Bitty Very Hungry Caterpillar" booklet, which includes the rest of the story telling cards as well.

Review more concepts by using the word cards from my other free packets, such as the Dolch words, CVC words, Shape words, Number words or Color words.

Decide which cards you want your students to work on and run those off.  Make all the sets for yourself, so that you can play “Flash Review” to nail all of those standards.

Besides "feeding" the caterpillar, students can also play Memory Match or “I Have, Who Has?” games.

I’ve also included several "What’s Missing?" worksheets for upper and lowercase letters, as well as all of the skip counted numbers + a blank template so you can program your own worksheets with whatever.

Students can also color a pattern on their caterpillar or play the "Caterpillar Creeps" dice game reviewing the life cycle of a butterfly.  I’ve included traceable life cycle cards as well. 

Click on the link to view/download this 50-page fun-filled packet: Very Hungry Caterpillar Activities.

If you're looking for more caterpillar and butterfly FREEBIES, click on the link to pop on over to that section of my blog.  I also have an entire pin board for The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and another for butterflies, with lots of creative ideas, cute crafts and other other FREE activities.

Thanks for visiting.  It's time for this caterpillar to morph into a butterfly.  It's a better way to flit through the day getting things done, rather than be a slow slug-a-bug; certainly no time for a nap in a chrysalis or anywhere else.

Sigh....So much to do with so little time to get it all done. I can't believe Easter's this weekend.

"The beautiful spring came; and when nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also." -Harriet Ann Jacobs

1-2-3 Come Chew On Some Common Core With the Very Hungry Caterpillar and Me

Since so many people read The Very Hungry Caterpillar, I wanted to use Eric Carle's cute little critter as a spring board to studying a variety of Common Core Standards.

I created the caterpillar template and made a list of all sorts of ways I could use it, then set about to design the details.   You can choose which one you want your students to do, or give them a choice. 

Teachers could also make up their own set and laminate to use as spring anchor charts.  Make an extra set to use for independent sequencing centers or to play games with.  Don't glue the body-segment circles together, and you could also use them to  independently or whole group assess the various standards.

In The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eats the Alphabet, students trace and write upper and lowercase letters.  I've also included a set where a bit of the butterfly's life cycle is also included with the letters. 

For example, for the letter  Zz, I added:  Zzzzzz sleeping in a chrysalis, and then included a butterfly pattern with the letters all over her wings to be cut and glued on the last section.  

I glued just the thorax portion to the last "body" circle and bent the wings up so that the butterfly is 3D and looks like she's flying.

Older students could also make a list of a food the caterpillar could eat that begins with that letter.  You may want to read Lois Ehlert's book Eating the Alphabet (Fruits and Vegetables from A to Z) to give students some ideas.  Click on the link to view/download The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eats the Alphabet packet. 

If you'd like to review just the life cycle of a butterfly, you'll want to take a look at The Life Cycle Of The Very Hungry Caterpillar packet.  Students trace and write the words, then color, cut and glue the pictures. 

If you look closely, you'll see that I glued down just the thorax with this butterfly too, so it looks 3 dimensional, like the larger one above.  Click on the link to view/download it. 

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eats a Rainbow, reinforces colors as well as the days of the week.  Before hand, brainstorm what kinds of things the caterpillar could eat that are the various colors.  Write these words on the board to help children with spelling.

Students trace and write the color words and complete the sentence with something the caterpillar ate that was that color.  Adding end punctuation reviews another standard.  

Children then draw and color a picture.  I've included my sample so that you can quickly make one to share with your students. Click on the link to view/download The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eats a Rainbow packet.

You may also want to read one of the following books for some great examples of rainbow-colorful food: I Eat A Rainbow, by Bobbie Kalman;  Can You Eat a Rainbow? by Anastasia Suen;  and/or  I Can Eat A Rainbow, by Annabel Karmel.   

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eats Some Numbers includes counting from zero to ten, where students trace and write the numbers as well as the number words.  I've  included a butterfly pattern to glue to the last section if you want.

There are also caterpillar "body" circles for skip counting by 2s 3s, 5s, and 10s. If you are practicing counting backwards from 10 to 0, simply have children put the caterpillar in reverse order.

In all of the packets there are patterns for the caterpillar's head if you want it to be made out of construction paper, as well as a pattern that students can color, like the "Skip count by 10s" caterpillar in the photo.

Since I have many requests for shape craftivities, particulary 3D shapes, I thought I'd make The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eats Some Shapes. 

This is the largest packet, as I've included a caterpillar that reviews 2D shapes, as well as the days of the week.  For this caterpillar, students trace and write the shape words, as well as draw the shapes. 

I've included a butterfly pattern with the various shapes sprinkled on the wings, if you'd like to include that on the last "body" section.  For a cool 3D effect, fold the wings up and glue only the thorax portion down.

Another caterpillar, is a cut-and-glue the 2D shapes on the "body" circles.  Besides the standard 2D shapes, you can also choose to include the hexagon, pentagon, and octagon, and/or the pattern block shapes: rhombus and trapezoid. 

There's also a separate caterpillar that simply "eats" all of the 3D shapes. As with the above activity, students cut and glue the 3D shapes to the "body" circles.  Click on the link to view/download The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eats Some Shapes.

Whew! That's a lot of Very Hungry Caterpillar options!  I hope they help your kiddo-caterpillars blossom into smart little butterlies!

To take a look at all the butterfly-caterpillar FREEBIES on my site, click on the link.  I also have a plethora of more free butterfly & caterpillar activities, crafts, snacks & ideas on my pinteresting PIN boards. 

Thanks for visiting.  The sun has actually ventured out today, so I'm going to bask in it for as long as I can tolerate the wind and 25 degree temperature.  Wishing you a stress-free day.

Crawling With Creativity!

Is anyone still doing caterpillar stuff?  Even if you’ve completed your studies, I bet you’re still assessing and need a moment of sanity.

Why not plug in anyone of these independent activities for your kiddo’s to work on? Your students can make their own hungry caterpillar by simply coloring the template.

I made mine out of construction paper.  You can run the master off on red construction paper and students can cut eyes out of yellow and green scraps if you want to make them that way.

Cut a hole for the mouth, Scotch tape a small Baggie to the back and you’re all set to feed this hungry boy all sorts of traceable cards.

I went crazy making traceable number cards from 1-30, skip counted numbers by 2’s, 3’s, 5’s and 10’s, upper and lowercase letters, all 14 adjectives used in the book, the days of the week, the months in the year, + covers so that students can make Itty Bitty booklets to match all of the categories!

There's also cards for everything that the caterpillar ate, including black and white cards so students can color their own little My Itty Bitty Very Hungry Caterpillar book which includes the rest of the story telling cards as well.

Use word cards from other packets (such as the Dolch, CVC, Shapes, or Color word card packets) and feed to review even more concepts!

Decide which cards you want your students to work on and run those off.  Make all the sets for yourself, so that you can play “Flash Review” to nail all of those standards.

To make things even more fun, while reviewing whatever concept you want to work on, play “I Have, Who Has?” with your students. i.e., I have 3 who has 6?

I’ve also included several What’s Missing? worksheets for upper and lowercase letters, as well as all of the skip counted numbers + a blank template so you can program your own skill sheets.

Students can also color a pattern on their caterpillar or play the Caterpillar Creeps dice game and review the life cycle of a butterfly.  I’ve included traceable life cycle cards as well. Use them as a fun way to "review-read and feed!"

Click on the link to view/download this 50-page fun-filled packet. Very Hungry Caterpillar Activities.Feel free to PIN anything you feel might help someone.