Easel Art: Caterpillars

Sandpaper Rubbings

Painted Toast

Very Hungry Caterpillars

For this project the children decide what the hungry caterpillar wants to eat. Each child is give a piece of cardstock that has been folded in half and then re-opened. The teacher draws a bold black line on the fold and two antennae.

The children are given small squeeze bottles of paint. They get to squeeze small dots onto the bold line and tell what the caterpillar is eating. For example when they squeeze yellow on, they may say the caterpillar at a banana.

When the line is full, the children fold their paper in half and use their hands or the spreaders (as seen in the teachers hand) to rub the paper. As they rub from the folded edge of the paper to the other side, the paint will spread.

When they open their paper they will discover their beautiful butterfly.

Gingerbread Houses

Make the graham cracker houses ahead of time. First create a base using a sturdy paper plate or cardboard. Then use 2 graham crackers broken in half to create the four sides of the bottom. Use royal icing (recipe can be found online) to glue the crackers together. Let sit overnight and then build the roof.
Put a variety of edible decorations on the table for the children to choose. Give each child a small ziploc sack that has a small amount of royal icing in it. (You will notice that we squeezed all of the frosting to the corner and wrapped a rubber band around it. This made it very easy for the children to squeeze out.) When the children are ready, snip a small opening in the tip of the plastic bag and let them put icing on the decorations they wish to add to their gingerbread house.



The children loved squeezing the icing all over their projects to create snow and whatever popped in to their imaginations!