Woolly Bear Caterpillar Craft

Celebrate our fuzzy friend this Autumn with this fun Woolly Bear Caterpillar Craft!

Autumn is the time of the woolly bear caterpillar marching across paths and roads as they prepare for their long winter slumber. These cute critters are so loved by our family and many others, there are even great celebrations held in their honor. The Woolly Bear Festival in Vermillion, Ohio, is a huge one-day family event. There’s a woolly bear parade, costume contests, races, and more! And this isn’t the only place that hosts such great parties. You’ll also find woolly bear festivals in North Carolina, Kentucky, New York, and Ontario.

Woolly Bears are famous in folklore for helping farmers predict how severe the coming winter will be by the relative widths of their black and red-brown bands. The longer the woolly bear’s black bands, the longer and colder winter will be. Which part of the caterpillar has the longest black band will also tell us which part of winter will be the worst. If the head section is longer, the beginning of winter will be harsh. If the tail end is longer, then we can prepare for a hard winter end. If we are fortunate to see caterpillars with long, middle reddish bands, then winter will be kind and mild. What prediction will your friend make in our woolly bear caterpillar craft today?

inspired by and adapted from a wonderful project by Chicken Scratch NY

what you need:

fall paint colors and black
fork
paint brush
cardstock
paper plate
collected leaves
scissors
glue stick

What you do:

Collect leaves on your next nature walk. Avoid the dried ‘crispy’ leaves. Fresh works best.
Layout fall-colored paints on a paper plate or scrap piece of cardboard.
Paint the underside of your leaves then print onto cardstock. You can overlap your designs. We are creating a ‘forest floor’ background. Set aside to dry.
On a new piece of cardstock, use a fork to create your spiky woolly bear caterpillar. The head and the tail are black. Use red-brown paint for your middle section. What type of winter is your woolly bear predicting today? Is the black band longer or shorter than the red bands?
After your woolly bear dries, cut it out and paste it onto your dried leaf background.

Woolly Bear Caterpillar Looking Glass Nature Study

This is just one of the many activities in our Woolly Bear Caterpillar and Isabella Tiger Moth Looking Glass Nature Study. Learn about this amazing creature who can hibernate all winter before transforming into the Isabella Tiger Moth in the Spring. This family-style unit was inspired by Charlotte Mason with 22 activities including: open-and-go learning guides, handpainted anatomy and lifecycle activities, artwork study, music study, poetry & copywork, folklore, STEM projects, crafts, a Moth Nature Journal, and more!