My preschooler’s favorite book as a baby was The Very Hungry Caterpillar and he passed on that love to his little sister. He can recite the entire book to her from memory and it’s very sweet to watch him “read” to her. We just had to make a handmade caterpillar ornament, inspired by the book, for our Christmas tree this year. A lot of learning opportunities were created from this little craft project. My daughter worked on colors, picking out the green and red pom poms and grouping them in light and dark green categories. My son worked on fine motor skills with gluing the pom poms together and cutting the leaf. My daughter also worked on fine motor skills with learning how to screw a jar lid on after she put the caterpillar and leaf inside. I was in charge of the hole punch and it was quite the team effort! Can’t wait to hang this ornament on our tree!
MATERIALS
4 Light Green Small Pom Poms
3 Dark Green Small Pom Poms
1 Red Small Pom Pom
2 Small Googly Eyes
Tacky Glue (or hot glue for adults)
Scissors
Green Paper
Hole Punch
1/2 Pint Mason Jar & Lid
Red Yarn
INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1: Use tacky glue to glue green pom poms together, as shown in the photo. Glue a red pom pom to the end of the green pom poms. Glue 2 googly eyes to the red pom pom. Kids should use tacky glue and adults can use hot glue.
Step 2: Cut a leaf shape out of green paper and punch a hole in the leaf.
Step 3: Punch 2 holes into the lid of the mason jar, as shown in the photo.
Step 4: String 3 strands of red yarn in the holes and tie a knot at the top for hanging, as shown in the photo.
Step 5: Place caterpillar and leaf inside of the jar and screw the lid on tight. Hang on your tree and enjoy!
For more kid-friendly holiday fun, follow our Kid-Friendly Christmas Pinterest board:
Follow See Vanessa Craft’s board Kid-Friendly Christmas on Pinterest.
My pal, Melissa, over at Mama Miss organized this #KidMadeChristmas series – 10 crafty days of handmade Christmas ornaments inspired by books that kids can make! We’re barely on Day 2, so stay tuned for more kid-friendly holiday fun! You can link up your own handmade ornament ideas below.
