Our Very Hungry Caterpillars

It's been two days....

Yay! They are still alive and moving around...that's a good sign :) My kiddos definitely enjoy watching them. Today I bravely set the container on our story-time table, so they could have a better view of them.

I had to have my kiddos move back rather far for this picture so I could actually see what they were doing! As soon as I was done taking the picture though, they instantly closed in, banging heads together as they each tried to get a better look. Their noses were practically sticking to the container! Those poor, innocent caterpillars! I hope they have strong little hearts :)

Yesterday I went to the library and got some books on caterpillars/butterflies and ladybugs (hopefully, Ladybug Land will be arriving soon!). I got some fun & silly books and also some educational books. (a nice balance for a K-teacher!)

You simply can't have caterpillars in your classroom without reading this classic book by Eric Carle entitled The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

For a college project, I actually made a felt board activity out of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" story. I just printed out the colored templates, laminated them, and stuck Velcro on the back so they would stick to a felt board. If you click here, you can find the templates I used. There are TONS of printable activities on the DLTK's Growing Together website!

So in case you have never heard the story of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", let me use my felt board pieces to tell the story. My kiddos really enjoyed using the felt board pieces and I have a feeling this story will be requested over and over again these next few weeks!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

by Eric Carle

In the light of the moon a little egg lay on a leaf. One Sunday morning the warm sun came up and - pop! - out of the egg came a tiny and very hungry caterpillar.

He started to look for some food.

On Monday he ate through one apple. But he was still hungry.


On Tuesday he ate through two pears, but he was still hungry.







On Wednesday he ate through three plums, but he was still hungry.






On Thursday he ate through four strawberries, but he was still hungry.







On Friday he ate through five oranges, but he was still hungry.






On Saturday he ate through one piece of chocolate cake, one ice-cream cone, one pickle, one slice of Swiss cheese, one slice of salami, one lollipop, one piece of cherry pie, one sausage, one cupcake, and one slice of watermelon.


That night he had a stomachache!




The next day was Sunday again. The caterpillar ate through one nice green leaf, and after that he felt much better.







Now he wasn't hungry any more - and he wasn't a little caterpillar any more. He was a big, fat caterpillar.

He built a small house, called a cocoon, around himself. He stayed inside for more than two weeks. Then he nibbled a hole in the cocoon, pushed his way out and....




he was a beautiful butterfly!!