{Kid Craft} Make Recycled Egg Carton Caterpillars

My little guy inherited the crafter gene. Almost every day he asks if we can do a craft. If we are out shopping he asks if we can go to the dollar store to buy a craft (meaning craft supplies). When he's not running around, he wants to watch Tinkerbell...whom, if you didn't know is a "tinker" [AKA crafter] fairy. Today we spent some quality time crafting together and made these great caterpillars.

Supplies

• Empty egg carton
• Junk scissors (as in not your good ones - you'll be cutting cardboard and pipe cleaners)
• Googley Eyes
• Washable Markers (I like these marker paintbrush hybrids)
• Pipe Cleaners
• Pom-Poms (AKA "puffy balls")
• Hot Glue Gun and Glue (to use with adult help)

Directions

Step 1: Get all your supplies together

(pom-poms and glue not pictured)

Step 2: Prep egg carton

Cut the lid and side flap off of the egg carton.

If your carton has large spikes in the middle (like near the left arrow), use your scissors to cut them off (leaving a hole like near the right arrow)

Cut the egg cups down the middle to make two caterpillar bodies. Use the scissors to clean up the edges.

Step 3: Decorate

Let your kid go to town decorating his caterpillar. I had my son pick out the eyes he wanted (I glued them on using the glue gun). Then he would choose a pom-pom and tell me where he wanted it to go. I put a dab of hot glue on the cardboard and let him stick the pom-pom to the glue. He did great and I was the only one who ended up with a glue burn! We also painted the carton a little bit with his marker/paint pens.

It is so interesting to me what our kids come up with when they choose their own way to do things. My son decided that his caterpillar needed a nose and ears. Then after gluing down small pom-poms he decided he wanted to stick big ones on top. I think if I would have let him, he would have tried to make a pom pom tower!

Here is his finished caterpillar. He was adamant that the antenna (the pink pipe cleaner) go the way he put it. Too funny!

This is my caterpillar. My son didn't like mine. He said it needed a nose and ears.

Do you make recycled crafts with your kids?

If you do, I'd love to hear about it! If you're a blogger and you've written about crafts with your kids, let me know in the comments or submit a request to be featured. I love showing off what readers are making!

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