* Make at least 30 caterpillars from chenille stems by wrapping a chenille stem around a marker to create a tight coil. Remove the marker for a fat caterpillar. For a skinnier caterpillar, wrap the chenille stem around a pencil. * Cut four 8" by 10" leaves from green felt. * Place the caterpillars and leaves in the plastic bug catcher(s). What to Do 1. Read The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. Invite the children to explore a caterpillar manipulative as you read the story aloud. 2. Invite a child to open the bug catcher and remove a leaf. 3. Have the child spill out the caterpillars. 4. Invite the child to place each caterpillar on the large felt leaf and describe it. 5. Encourage the children to sort the caterpillars by color or size and then line them up in a row and count them. 6. Invite the children to move the caterpillars about the leaves as they work and play. Talk about how caterpillars move. 7. Encourage the children to invent conversations the caterpillars could have with one another as they move about the leaf. 8. Invite the older children to create a pattern using the caterpillar manipulatives and then teach the pattern to a friend. Assessment Consider the following: * Can the children describe the butterflies? * Are the children able to use props to retell the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar?
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