The Very Hungry Caterpillar DIY Story Prop
This is another story prop that has evolved over the years. My earlier attempts had flaws and I wanted a prop that was easy to clean, easy to use, and child friendly. I often go through my games and supplies to evaluate if they are worth the space they are taking up. This game, the bones of my DIY, was a Monkey Drop game. Children would remove the skewers while trying not to release the monkeys. It is a bit ambitious for Day Care and was not a favorite pick. I was about to remove it when I saw it in a new light. It would make the perfect caterpillar body for one of our favorite stories by Eric Carle.
I removed the leaves, monkeys and skewers and started to look at it critically for how to best alter it. To be honest, very little had to be done. I went to the storybook illustrations and looked at the colors I wanted to use. My paint colors are as follows: Rustoleum Chalk Paints in light yellow/green, darker green, light and dark blue, and rose. I sprayed the base with the yellow/green color, and then lightly sprayed streaks of color around the body. I sprayed the lid with the rose color.
Once the container was painted, I moved on to the story pieces, the food the caterpillar ate. I made these on PowerPoint. The circles were set to 3.5 cm. I made a sheet of them and then duplicated that sheet. Then I inserted the required food items into each circle. I decoupaged the pictures onto 2 inch wooden discs which you can purchase here.
Comments