One of the unique aspects of Eric Carle's books, including "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," is his watercolor illustrations. Read the story, and teach the child age-appropriate watercolor techniques. For a young child, simple art techniques such as how to hold a brush and color blending are appropriate. Provide the child with watercolors and ask him to paint a colorful butterfly similar to the one at the end of the story.
Read the story with your child, and use the caterpillar to teach her about patterns. Cut out various colored circles and ask the child to use specific patterns to create a variety of caterpillars. An example might include asking the child to use one red circle and one yellow one, and so on. Have the child draw eyes and feelers on the first circle of the caterpillar to create its head. To extend the activity, ask her to guess what might come next in the pattern.
In "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," the caterpillar turns into a beautiful butterfly. Purchase cocoons from a science learning center or local butterfly museum. Place them in a secure location in your classroom or home and allow the child to watch the process from the stage of the caterpillar to the butterfly. Ask him to record observations of the day-to-day changes in a science journal. As each stage occurs, relate it to the similar part in the story.
Retelling a story is one way to evaluate a child's comprehension of a book. Read "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" with the child. The story is originally written from a third-person perspective, so ask the student to retell the story from the perspective of the caterpillar. Have her think about what it might feel like to be in a cocoon for a long period of time and how it might feel to emerge as a butterfly.