• Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • FAQ
    • Disclosure and Privacy Policy
  • Subscribe
  • Community
  • Books
    • Books for Children by Age
    • Book Lists
    • Holiday Books and Activities
  • Reading Ideas
    • Babies
    • Toddlers
    • Preschoolers
    • Kindergarteners & Early Elementary
  • Writing Ideas
  • Parental Involvement: Building Partnerships
  • Start Here!
    • WELCOME TO THE GROWING BOOK BY BOOK COMMUNITY
    • Subscribe
    • Contact
    • FAQ
      • Disclosure and Privacy Policy
  • Shop
  • Home
  • Book Lists
    • Books for Children by Age
    • Book Lists
    • Holiday Books and Activities
  • Book Activities
  • Early Literacy
    • Alphabet Activities
    • Circle Time Activities
    • Phonological Awareness Activities

Growing Book by Book

  • Family Involvement
    • Start a Family Dinner Book Club
  • Start Here
  • Store
discovering with babies playing with toddlers exploring with preschoolers building with beginning readers

Bring joy and play into children's lives through books.

Yes, please!
Home » Books for Kids » Book Activities » 23 The Very Hungry Caterpillar Activities

23 The Very Hungry Caterpillar Activities

March 4, 2024 •

Sharing is caring!

4810 shares
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
preschool activities for The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Looking for a way to keep your preschooler entertained and engaged while also fostering their love for learning? Look no further than “The Very Hungry Caterpillar“! This timeless children’s book by Eric Carle has captivated young minds for decades with its vibrant illustrations and delightful story. But did you know that it can also serve as the perfect inspiration for fun and educational activities? I’ve gathered 23 exciting activities that will not only entertain but also help them develop important early literacy skills. We love our Eric Carle Book Activities!

Did you know that The Very Hungry Caterpillar has its very own dedicated day of the year?  Yes, it’s March 20th.   It seems like the perfect day since that is also the first day of spring.

preschool activities for The Very Hungry Caterpillar

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Activities

Enjoy these book activities for bringing the book to life.

Full Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Read The Very Hungry Caterpillar Book

the very hungry caterpillar

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle is the story of a caterpillar who eats his way through the days of the week.  In the end, he turns into a beautiful caterpillar.

days of the week books

Keep the days of the week learning going with my big list of books to enjoy.—> Days of the Week Books for Kids

Alphabet Activity for The Very Hungry Caterpillar Book

Hungry Caterpillar Letter Sort helps kids look at the shape of letters.

Learning Your Name Through the Very Hungry Caterpillar

Make a name caterpillar with this idea from Toddler Approved.

Or, try this quick printable idea for working on letters in names from Taming Little Monsters.

Play to Learn Preschool shares another name sequencing idea that works on fine motor skills.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Sequencing

The Very Hungry Caterpillar lends itself very well to sequencing activities.

Try this clever sequencing activity from Kreative in Life.

Or, try this sequencing idea from School Time Snippets.

JDaniel’s4s Mom shares a clever sequencing idea with pool noodles to work on ordering the days of the week.

Printable Books to Pair With The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Caterpillar Days of the Week Book from 123 Homeschool 4 Me shares a way to practice reading and spelling the days of the week.

Rubber Boots and Elf Shoes has a printable to make your own caterpillar book.

These The Very Hungry Caterpillar activities will build literacy skills. Ideas for alphabet practice, fine motor, learning your name, sight words and more!

Vocabulary Ideas to Use With Eric Carle’s Caterpillar Book

Try these cute word puzzles from Playdough to Plato

Learn words from the story with these printable cards from Homeschool Creations.

Comprehension Work with The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Chalkboard Academy shows you how to make awesome story stones that can then be used for storytelling practice.

LEGO lovers will adore this comprehension idea from The Educators’ Spin On It.

Try this storytelling basket idea from the Imagination Tree to work on retelling the story.

Fine Motor and Writing Practice for The Very Hungry Caterpillar

This threading activity from Here Come the Girls is super cute.

Buggy and Buddy share a threading necklace that also doubles as a craft.

Fun Learning for Kids has a fun playdough caterpillar invitation to create idea.

Or, try this playdough idea from Powerful Mothering.

Eat through all the food with this fine motor punch idea from Modern Preschool.

Totschooling shares tracing and coloring sheets to complement the book.

Parenting Chaos shares a caterpillar puzzle with us.

More Literacy Ideas to Use With The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Pretend play and storytelling are in order for this caterpillar puppet from Rhythms of Play.

Work on following directions as you put together these caterpillar cookies from A Little Pinch of Perfect.

Have lots of fun with these The Very Hungry Caterpillar activities.

monthly lesson plans for preschool

Looking for even more book activities?  Check out our monthly preschool literacy units.  They are centered around great books!—>Monthly Preschool Literacy Units

This post first appeared on 3/10/17 and has since been updated.

Did you get your free list of Books Kids Will Beg You to Read?

Get It

Sharing is caring!

4810 shares
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email

Filed Under: Book Activities Tagged With: round-up, The Very Hungry Caterpillar

About Jodie Rodriguez

Jodie Rodriguez is a mom of two young boys and an early childhood/elementary educator with over 20 years of experience. Jodie's passion is helping parents, teachers, librarians and anyone else interested in nurturing and reaching ALL of our youngest growing readers.

Comments

  1. Jackie says

    March 26, 2017 at 10:17 pm

    We love to read books and contInue the learing with crafts and activities. Eric carle is a wonderful author and many of his books are favoritEs of ours!

  2. Jazmin says

    March 26, 2017 at 9:21 am

    Our favorite caterpillar! We worked on learning our name.

  3. danielle hammelef says

    March 24, 2017 at 8:51 am

    I love activities related to books. You’ve provided so many excellent ways to connect literature to real life for kids. Thank you!

  4. velma says

    March 20, 2017 at 1:02 pm

    Thanks for all the great ideas. i am helping My almost-3 yo grandson learn his name so we will be doing the very hungry caterpillar paper plate name game from toddler approved. he also loves to paint so he will be sponge painting a caterpillar and adding the eyes, antenna, and legs so he can hang it on his art wall.

  5. Catherine Maguire says

    March 13, 2017 at 12:17 pm

    This would be USEFUL as I work with early years.

  6. Nell says

    March 13, 2017 at 2:04 am

    the Very hungry Caterpillar was one of my favorites and now it is one of my daughters. So many fun Literacy activities in this collection. Thank you for including our Very hungry caterpillar puppet!

What can we help you find?

Subscribe to Growing Book by Book

lead magnet for growing book bybook
Welcome to Growing Book by Book!  Learn about the creator, Jodie Rodriguez.

Find More

alphabet activities
book lists for children
circle time button

Set Up for Circle Time Success

month by month circle time songs


Copyright ©2025, Growing Book by Book. All Rights Reserved. Custom design by Pixel Me Designs | Privacy Policy