This is the perfect supervised craft activity to accompany "The Grumpy Caterpillar" board book.
What you will need -
3 jumbo balls of cotton
glue
1 clothespin
washable paint (tempera or acrylic)
1 coffee filter
marker pens
water spray
1 pair of wiggle eyes (available at craft stores)
cardboard middle of a toilet roll (after all the paper has gone!)
How to create your transforming caterpillar -
Glue three cotton balls to one side of the clothes pin.
Paint them green and set aside to dry.
Take the coffee filter, draw a pattern on it with markers, then spray lightly with water.
Let everything dry overnight.
The next day, glue the wiggle eyes to the top most cotton ball.
You now have a little caterpillar!
To turn your caterpillar into a butterfly, gently tear apart the coffee filter on two sides, leaving just the narrowest part at the bottom still attached.
Slide the opened filter into the clothespin so that there is a wing on either side. It's okay if it's a little scrunched up!
Wrap the wings around the body of the butterfly, and slide it into the empty toilet paper roll.
The toilet paper roll is now a cocoon with a chrysalis butterfly inside waiting to make its entrance into the world!
Once you have the caterpillar in its cocoon, explain the transformation to your child as he or she gently pulls the chrysalis out and the butterfly unwraps its wings!