Preschool Crafts

3 Easy Very Hungry Caterpillar Crafts for Preschoolers

3 Very Hungry Caterpillar crafts for preschoolers, each with a picture and simple steps. Easy ideas for ages 3 to 5 using paper, paint, and glue.

Kindergarten Prep Team
Oct 17, 2026

A caterpillar is a row of circles with a red one in front, which is why it is the first book craft a child manages alone. Here are three ways to make a Very Hungry Caterpillar craft, with pictures, supplies, and steps: stamped circles, pom poms on a leaf, and an egg carton.

A three-year-old stamps a row with a sponge. A five-year-old counts the segments and keeps the head red. Families make these the week the book comes home, and the egg carton one lives on the shelf.

Start here: three Very Hungry Caterpillar crafts that always work

Stamped circle caterpillar, an easy Very Hungry Caterpillar craft for preschoolers ages 3 to 5Stamped circle caterpillarGreen paint, a sponge, ten minutesPom pom caterpillar, an easy Very Hungry Caterpillar craft for preschoolers ages 3 to 5Pom pom caterpillarNothing to cut, a three can do it aloneEgg carton caterpillar, an easy Very Hungry Caterpillar craft for preschoolers ages 3 to 5Egg carton caterpillarThe one that stands up on the shelf

3 Very Hungry Caterpillar crafts, with pictures

Stamped circle caterpillar, an easy Very Hungry Caterpillar craft for preschoolers ages 3 to 5

1. Stamped circle caterpillar

The child stamps a row of green circles with a sponge, pom pom or potato masher and one red circle for the head.

You need: white paper, round sponge, green and red paint, black marker

How to make it
  1. Your child dips the sponge in green paint and stamps circles in a row across the paper, each touching the next.
  2. Stamp one red circle at one end as the head.
  3. Let it dry.
  4. Draw 2 dot eyes and a small smile on the red circle, and 2 short antenna lines above it.
Egg carton caterpillar, an easy Very Hungry Caterpillar craft for preschoolers ages 3 to 5

2. Egg carton caterpillar

The child paints a strip of egg carton cups, then pokes in pipe cleaner antennae and adds eyes.

You need: 1 strip of 5 joined egg carton cups, green paint, 2 googly eyes, 2 short red pipe cleaner pieces, glue

How to make it
  1. Turn the strip upside down so the cups make bumps in a row.
  2. Your child paints it green all over. Let it dry.
  3. Glue 2 eyes on the front of the first cup.
  4. Make 2 holes in the top of the first cup and poke the red pipe cleaners through as antennae.
Pom pom caterpillar, an easy Very Hungry Caterpillar craft for preschoolers ages 3 to 5

3. Pom pom caterpillar

The child glues a row of pom poms onto a craft stick or paper leaf and adds eyes and antennae.

You need: green paper, medium pom poms in different colors, 2 small googly eyes, 2 short black pipe cleaner pieces, white glue

How to make it
  1. You cut a large leaf from green paper.
  2. Your child glues pom poms in a row along the middle, touching.
  3. Glue 2 eyes on the first pom pom.
  4. Glue 2 black antennae above it.
Free · 30 questions · about 4 minutes Is your child on track for kindergarten? Answer 30 questions about what your child does today, and you get a report like this one: Every area at a glance: strong, on track, or worth a little time The one or two areas to focus on first Simple things to do at home for each area How many months you have until kindergarten starts Get my child's free report → Example kindergarten readiness report with a bar for each area: language, social-emotional, math, thinking, fine motor and literacy

Very Hungry Caterpillar crafts for 3 year olds

Two of these a young three can do almost alone: Stamped circle caterpillar, Pom pom caterpillar. No exact cutting, no small pieces, and the glue stick does the rest. For the others, you cut and they glue.

Caterpillar crafts for a 3 year old versus a 5 year old

The stamped circle caterpillar needs the least setup: one plate of green paint, one of red, and a sponge, a pom pom on a clothespin or a potato masher. Lay newspaper, stamp, and the whole thing is done in ten minutes.

A three does all of the stamping and all of the pom pom gluing alone. Cutting the egg carton strip and poking the pipe cleaner antennae through the cardboard is yours.

Count as you go. Ask how many green circles the caterpillar has, then add one and count again. On the egg carton caterpillar, each cup is one segment, so a five can make a six segment caterpillar on request.

Put the pom pom caterpillar on the fridge or send it to school for the week the class reads the book. The egg carton caterpillar sits on a shelf.

Free · 30 questions · about 4 minutes Before you go: see where your child is for kindergarten A report with every area at a glance, what to focus on first, and things to do at home. Get my child's free report →

More crafts for preschoolers
Preschool Crafts

Similar posts

Preschool Crafts

6 Shape Crafts for Preschoolers (Easy Ideas)

6 shape crafts for preschoolers, each with a picture and simple steps. Easy ideas for ages 3 to 5 using paper, paint, and glue.

Kindergarten Prep Team Oct 14, 2026