Most caterpillars have a segmented, tubular body. They breathe through tiny openings, spiracles, along the sides of their thorax and abdomen. The spiracles often look like bright dots. Let preschoolers make a segmented caterpillar's body by making circle prints on paper. Dip the top of a plastic cup in paint to make the circle prints, and use a plastic knife to make grass. Use a brush to make eyes, mouth and some colorful breathing openings along the body.
A caterpillar has around 4,000 muscles and contracts its muscles to move forward. Its torso elongates and then it contracts like a slinky or helical spring. Talk about how a caterpillar moves. Alternatively go outside and study how a caterpillar moves. Put on some suitable music and let preschoolers lay on the floor. Tell them to find different ways of moving forward or backward by not using their hands or feet. Ask them to move like a caterpillar.
A caterpillar's body can be used for counting practice. Use a template to make a couple of caterpillars. Color in the caterpillars and write numbers on the body segments. Put stripes or circles on the bodies. Laminate the papers and let preschoolers use them for counting activities. Let them count the segments, legs, spots and stripes. Search the Internet and peruse books for photos of caterpillars. Use these in a group activity and let children count and compare different types of caterpillars.
The word caterpillar is a long word, which can be divided up in many different ways. Promote awareness of syllables by dividing the word into segments. Use a template of a caterpillar's body and write down the syllables on the caterpillar's body. You can divide the word into four syllables "ca- ter- pil -ar" or "cat -er- pil -ar". Look for other four syllable words and let children divide them into syllables. Let preschoolers search for other words that begin with the syllable "ca" and make a list of them. Use the list to make a story about a caterpillar where you have as many words as possible starting with the syllable "ca", for example, "one day the colorful caterpillar took out his car".