Easy Paper Plate Caterpillar Craft for Preschool

Learn how to make a Paper Plate Caterpillar Craft with just a few simple supplies. This is a fun way to teach kids about the letter C or about the life cycle of the butterfly during a Spring theme. Either way, your kids will have so much fun making this adorable caterpillar.

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More Caterpillar Crafts for Kids

Looking for easy peasy spring crafts for kids? Check out our collection of simple and delightful projects that are perfect for little hands.

For more ideas, take a look at these 30 Caterpillar Crafts for Preschool.

Materials Needed

Paper plate
Red paint
Green paint
Scissors
Paint brushes
Black marker
Glue
Pen or pencil

How to Make a Paper Plate Caterpillar Craft

1. Draw the body and head.

Use a pen or a pencil to draw an inner and an outer circle. The outer circle will end up looking like the letter C. The inner circle will end up being the caterpillar head.

2. Paint the face red.

You can make your caterpillar whichever color you like. This is a fun way to let your young children get creative and express their artistic side.

I love the classic book “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle, so I wanted my cute caterpillar craft to mirror the main character in the book.

3. Paint the body.

I kept the caterpillar’s body very simple because I wanted it to be easy enough that toddlers and preschoolers could do it themselves.

However, this step is another way to express your creative streak. There are so many different ways you can turn this simple caterpillar craft into a fun activity for kids of all ages. You could:

Glue different colors of pom poms along the body of the caterpillar.
Use a circle stamp to make the sections of the body into a rainbow.
decorate the body with buttons, tissue paper or other simple craft materials.

4. Cut it out.

Once the paint has dried, cut out your body and head.

Older children should have the fine motor skills to be able to cut out simple circle shapes by themselves. If you are doing this activity with younger children, like toddlers, they may need some help cutting out the inner circle of the caterpillars body.

5. Draw the face.

Since the caterpillar shape is like the letter C, to me, it looked like the caterpillar was curled up for a sleep. That’s why I drew a sleepy face on my caterpillar paper plate craft.

Of course you can choose whatever facial expression you like. If your preschool lesson plans include learning about emotions, then drawing the different feelings on the caterpillar is an easy way to help teach your class about different feelings.

6. Glue the head onto the body of the caterpillar.

Use a glue stick or some adhesive tape to attach the head to the body.

You can also let your children glue googly eyes and feelers made from pipe cleaners onto the head of the caterpillar for a fun twist on this easy craft.

7. Draw some legs.

This step is optional. Once again, I wanted it to look like my caterpillar was curled up asleep and I thought that having all the legs on one side would help give that impression.

You can also just glue pieces of black pipe cleaners or black cardstock onto your caterpillar instead. Or leave this step out all together if you prefer.