The Very Hungry Caterpillar Activity Ideas

We would not expect your child to complete all these activities. Please choose any that may interest your child. 

White Rose Maths have a list of daily suggested activities related to the story 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar.' It is for Reception children however, there may be some activities suitable or you could slightly change for your child's ability.

Maths

To say the number names up to 20 in order.

Activities

• Count with your child as they are getting dressed. Can they put on their t-shirt by the time you count to 20? See if they can count to 20 before you complete a task.
• Make up actions that your child likes to do e.g. star jumps, hops etc. Count to 20 as they do the same number of actions.
• Count with puppets and teddies. The teddies can make a mistake when counting and see if your child knows which number they missed?
• Get your child to count their fingers and toes to 20. Encourage them to count other members of the family too. 
• Use the video below to help your child count to 20 with this catchy song. Can you count faster and faster? 

Literacy

To recognise and write the letters ‘s’ and ‘d.’

To say the letter sounds

• Watch the YouTube clip to say them correctly.

s – is a stretchy sound.

d – is a bouncy sound.

Rhymes to help your child remember how to write the letters correctly

• Use the letter sound mat below

s – slither down the snake.

d – round the dinosaur’s bottom, up his long tall neck and down to his feet.

Activities to help recognise the letters

• Hide the letters in the garden and go on a letter sound hunt. Your child could move in different ways e.g. hop to the letter ‘s’ skip to the letter ‘d’ etc.
• Hunt for miniature letters hidden in the garden or around the lounge. They could use a magnifying glass if you have one.
• Spot letters in the story books you share together.
• Spot letters around the house on food packets, tv programmes, word art.
• Spot letters when you are out walking.
• Watch the alphablocks ‘s’ and ‘d.’
• Make the alphablocks ‘s’ and ‘d’ characters using the printable sheet to colour and stick onto a tube.

Activities to support sound skills

• Give the children a collection of items and sort them into objects that begin with ‘s’ and objects that begin with ‘d.’
• Collect items from around the house that start with the letter sounds 's' and 'd'.

Activities to help write the letters

• Practise mark making the letters using cars dipped in paint. Move the cars to write the letter, forming it correctly.
• Mark make in sand/ porridge oats/ flour/ salt/ sugar etc writing the letters using their finger.
• Mark make with magic water – water and glitter.
• Write the letters with chalk or with a paintbrush and water.
• Write the letters in play dough using a pencil.
• Write the letters using finger paints.
• Make dens using any large boxes you have and practise writing the letters inside the boxes.

Reading

You can use the free e-books available on oxford owl for your child to read to you. See last weeks suggested activities for more information.