Practice fine motor skills with our Very Hungry Caterpillar cutting strips. They check the fine motor practice box on your list of butterfly activities for preschoolers and kindergarten kids.
Perhaps my favorite thing about the Very Hungry Caterpillar cutting practice printable is that its super versatile. You can easily change it up based on your preferences and the needs of your students. On top of that, they’re super low prep. Just a few quick steps and they’re ready to use with students!
You can use the printable cutting sheets during your next butterfly unit or as part of your spring lesson plans. Or try adding them to a book study about our favorite little caterpillar.
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Related: Free Preschool Printables
Scroll to the bottom of this post to get your free copy of the Very Hungry Caterpillar printable. Start by printing them out and setting up your chosen activity. Then watch as the kids have fun learning and honing their skills!
Very Hungry Caterpillar Cutting Strips
The Very Hungry Caterpillar tracing strips are inspired by one of my favorite children’s storybooks: The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. You can plan an entire preschool theme around the book and these cutting strips will fit right in. They’ll also work well for themes like butterflies, bugs, or even a general spring theme!
How to Prep the Very Hungry Caterpillar Printable Tracing Sheets
First, you’ll want to grab the supplies you need to get the cutting pages ready to go. Here’s what you’ll need for the Very Hungry Caterpillar fine motor strips (I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post):
- Free printable Very Hungry Caterpillar cutting strips (request near the bottom of this post)
- Printer
- Copy Paper
- Scissors or paper trimmer
And that’s it! You don’t need much to prep these fine motor strips. With that said, this list might change and expand based on the activities you choose to do with the printable. Here are some other materials that might come in handy:
This section of supplies is based on the activity ideas listed below. I’d suggest taking a look through your supply closet. You might come across some supplies or loose parts that inspire a new activity idea!
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Now that you’ve gathered all of the necessary materials, it’s time to prep the strips. First and foremost, scroll to the bottom of this post and request your copy of the free printable Very Hungry Caterpillar cutting strips. Then print off your desired amount of copies.
The next part really depends on how you intend to use the strips. If you’re using them for cutting practice, be sure to make enough copies and simply cut out the strips.
Or, perhaps, you want to use the strips more than once. If that’s the case, print out the document, cut out the strips, and then laminate them. This broadens the activity possibilities and makes the strips durable enough to use again and again.
How Kids Can Use the Very Hungry Caterpillar Cutting Strips
Now that you’ve gathered the necessary materials and prepped the caterpillar printable, it’s time for the best part – letting the kids play with the cutting strips. The first, and most obvious way to use the Very Hungry Caterpillar cutting strips is right in the title. Use them as cutting practice!
First, download and print the document. Be sure to print a copy for each student. That way, they each have an entire set of cutting strips to practice with. Next, you can separate the strips using scissors or a paper trimmer. Finally, pass the Very Hungry Caterpillar cutting strips out to students and let them practice cutting along the path.
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This activity is pretty straight forward. However, some of your students might be brand new to cutting with scissors. If that’s the case, consider offering them adaptive scissors. This takes the pressure off and lets the kids focus on using both hands, one to hold the paper and the other to pinch the scissors. If they master that skill, let them progress to using regular scissors.
More Ideas for the Cutting Practice Pages
The lines on the fine motor strips are perfect for practicing scissor skills. But, as I mentioned above, there are so many other ways to use them! Here are a few of my favorite activity ideas for the Very Hungry Caterpillar cutting strips:
- Pair the strips with small caterpillar toys. Then students can practice fine motor skills, pretend play, and sequencing as they move the caterpillar through the various strips, retelling the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar!
- Pair the strips with a set of colorful buttons. Students will place the buttons along the path on each strip. As they do so, they can practice making color patterns. Challenge the kids further by having them set the buttons in place using kid-friendly tweezers.
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- Pair the strips with play dough. First, have students roll the play dough into “snakes.” Better yet, have them roll the dough into caterpillars! Then they can use their play dough caterpillars to trace the lines on each fine motor strip.
- Read the story aloud and place the strips on the board as visual aids. You can either adhere magnets to the strips or just place them in a pocket chart. Alternatively, have students work in small groups to put the strips in the correct order.
- Laminate or place the strips into dry-erase pockets. Then set them out along with dry-erase markers. Have students trace along the lines practicing a variety of line formations. This is an important pre-writing skill.
These are just a few activity ideas for the Very Hungry Caterpillar cutting strips. There are other ways to use them as well. I’m sure you’ve even got a few fun ideas up your sleeve, too! Be sure to let us know how you will use the fine motor strips with your class in the comments below.
What Skills are Kids Practicing with the Caterpillar Cutting Pages?
There are so many activity ideas for the Very Hungry Caterpillar fine motor strips. And they’re all so much fun! But never underestimate the children’s capacity to learn. In my experience, kids are always, always learning something.
Here are a few things the kids will learn, along with some skills they’ll be practicing, using the fine motor printable:
- Fine motor skills
- Left to right progression
- Sequencing
- Hand strengthening
- Scissor skills
- Pencil grip
- Counting
- Patterns
See? So many opportunities for learning and practicing new skills. And this list really just skims the surface of possibilities! The things kids will learn will change and grow based on the specific activities you choose, too.
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Remember to scroll down and grab your copy of the free printable!
More Fine Motor Activities for Kids
Fine motor skills are so important to developing other classroom skills, like writing, coloring, and more. And that’s why I like to add activities to my lesson plans that allow the kids to practice and hone their fine motor skills. The Very Hungry Caterpillar cutting strips are a prime example of that.
If you’re looking for even more activities for the kids to practice their fine motor skills, you’re in the right place! Here are a few of my favorites:
- Apple ABCs Fine Motor Cards
- Muffin Tin Fine Motor Play
- Number Activity for Preschoolers
- Tape Pull Fine Motor Activity
- Nuts and Bolts Fine Motor Activity
- Pizza Shop Fine Motor Activity
- Creative Fine Motor Activities
So much fine motor fun! The kids will strengthen their finger muscles and hone their fine motor skills in no time.
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Free Printable Very Hungry Caterpillar Cutting Strips
This free printable is available to members of Fun-A-Day’s free email community. If you’re a member, fill out the form below and the download links will be sent to your inbox. If you’re not a member, you can join us by entering your information in the form. Then you’ll receive the Very Hungry Caterpillar cutting strips as a welcome gift!
Be sure to check out my printing FAQ page if you run into any issues.
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