Fun For Kids – Drinking Straw Caterpillars

 
It's springtime again and the flowers and trees aren't the only things coming back to life. Everywhere you look there are lots of tiny creatures flying and crawling around, buzzing and humming as they go about their business. At this time of year it's not uncommon to see caterpillars munching on leaves and getting ready for their big transformation into beautiful butterflies. To capture this magic, we've got a great little project for you to make your own caterpillars that you can even bring to life!

You'll Need:

Here's How:

1. Cut from the end furthest from the bend all the way down the shaft until you nearly reach the bendy part.

2. At that point you can cut the piece off.

3. Just behind that, cut the straw a second time on the other side.

4. Pull out the bendable part of the straw and cut the visible creases halfway to the middle of the straw's diameter.

5. Pull apart the bendy part and use the scissors to cut every other "half-ring" in the middle.

6. Now you can bend the little "legs" outwards.

7. The next step is to stick the end of the straw that you cut at the beginning into the cut and feed it through until it comes out the other end.

8. With a permanent marker you can draw on some eyes and feet.

9. Cut a piece of construction paper into the shape of a leaf and use the hot glue to secure the straw to the construction paper below the bend. Now, when you pull on the end that you inserted into the bend, it looks like the caterpillar is moving.

The Drinking Straw Caterpillar doesn't really have any practical uses, but it's a lot of fun to make and play with, especially for kids. And does everything have to be so practical? A little bit of simple "magic" can do a lot to brighten our day and bring out the kid in all of us. And on a sunny spring afternoon, that's a great frame of mind to be in... have fun!

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