The Very Hungry Caterpillar Activity + Free Printable

Learn the life cycle of a Monarch butterfly with this fun, easy kids’ activity inspired by The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Includes a free printable!

Any Eric Carle fans in the house?

One of my favorite things about kids’ books is how a great story can turn into an easy learning activity—and The Very Hungry Caterpillar is basically begging for it.

Years ago, my kids and I were playing outside when Leah and Ryan, ages 3 and 2, became completely fascinated by all the butterflies flying around our yard.

Naturally, I decided to turn their fascination into a little science lesson.

With the help of some old teaching resources, I put together a simple Monarch butterfly life cycle craft using pasta, beans, leaves, and a few other things we already had around the house.

It was a hit.

Fast-forward a few years, and Mason, became obsessed with The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Even at age two, he could recite the book word-for-word. So I pulled out our old butterfly activity and decided it was time to make it again.

And apparently, we have a winner on our hands because we were 2 for 2 on the success of this activity! If you want to make these with your kids or students, I’ve included the worksheet as a free download, so keep reading!

The Life Cycle of a Monarch Butterfly

This activity is a fun way to introduce young children to the four stages of a butterfly’s life cycle:

1. Egg
2. Caterpillar
3. Chrysalis
4. Butterfly

And you don’t need a fancy science kit to make it happen, just a few simple craft supplies!

What You’ll Need

• The Very Hungry Caterpillar Book
• Glue
• Rotini pasta
• Shell pasta
• Bowtie pasta
• White beans
• Free printable butterfly life cycle worksheet
• Optional: 2 leaves and a small twig, or a green and brown crayon

How to Make the Butterfly Life Cycle

1. Start by reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar, then talk about what happens when the caterpillar grows and eventually becomes a butterfly. You can even ask questions along the way:
   • What comes out of the egg?
   • What does a caterpillar do all day?
   • What happens inside the chrysalis?
   • What does the caterpillar become?
   • Can you put the four stages in the correct order?
2. Start a conversation with your child about the four stages of a Monarch butterfly’s life cycle.
3. Use the materials to create each stage on the worksheet:
   • 1. Egg: Explain that Monarch butterflies lay their eggs on milkweed plants. Color the leaf green, or glue a leaf from your yard on top of the leaf on the worksheet. Add a few white beans on top of the leaf to represent the butterfly eggs.
   • 2. Caterpillar: Talk about how the caterpillar, also called a larva, hatches from the egg and spends its time eating and growing. (Very on-brand for The Very Hungry Caterpillar!) Color the leaf green in this section green, or glue a leaf from your yard. Glue a piece of rotini pasta to represent the caterpillar.
   • 3. Chrysalis: This is the stage where the caterpillar undergoes its amazing transformation. Color the twig on the worksheet brown, or glue a twig from your yard on top of the twig on the worksheet. Add a shell pasta to represent the chrysalis.
   • 4. Butterfly: Finally, glue a bowtie pasta under the antennae to represent the butterfly.

And that’s it!

You now have a simple, hands-on way for kids to see and remember the four stages of the Monarch butterfly life cycle.

Grab the Free Printable

Enter your name and email address to grab the free butterfly life cycle worksheet to print and use for this activity.

Easy enough, right?

And if your little one is anything like Mason, you might just end up reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar approximately 47 more times afterward.

Totally worth it.