Make this Wooden Bead Caterpillar project as a great spring craft or as part of the Spring Bs curriculum. If you are following the original online version, the Wooden Bead Caterpillar project would take the place of the Butterfly Life Cycle Collage scheduled in week eleven. It makes a sweet companion project for the Coffee Filter Butterflies. Children may need help making the antenna and finishing the end of the caterpillar but they will enjoy stringing the beads onto the pipe cleaner. This is a great project for children to work on creating patterns.
Wooden Bead Caterpillar Project Materials:
- Wooden Pony Beads (mixed colors – or paint your own)
- Pipe Cleaner
- Craft scissors/wire clippers for cutting piper cleaner wire (nail clippers make work)
Directions:
To begin this project, create a loop at the end of a piper cleaner. Twist the end around making a lasso shape.
Carefully flatted the lasso so that it is folded in half.
Twist each end of the lasso to create the antennae.
Slide your first bead onto the piper cleaner from the opposite side of the antennae. (If your wooden bead is filled with dry paint, you can use a yarn needle or similar to clean it out.) Be sure to cover the original twisted edge with the first bead.
Continue adding beads in a colorful pattern until your caterpillar reaches your desired length, or when you only have about 1 1/2″ of pipe cleaner left.
Hold the beads in place and fold over the end of the pipe cleaner over the last bead.
Twist the end of the pipe cleaner around the main pipe cleaner a few times.
Trim off the excess pipe cleaner.
Adjust the antennae and shape your caterpillar.
When you are done creating Wooden Bead Caterpillars, be sure to try out our Coffee Filter Butterfly craft.
