caterpillars

Here's a little something the kids and I dreamed up this week to entertain ourselves.  Wired pompom caterpillars.

We used these supplies

pompoms in assorted colors and sizes
craft wire, about 20 or 22 gauge
googlie eyes (not shown)
wire cutters
round nose pliers
glue gun (not shown)

Cut a length of wire about 1 1/2 inches longer than you want your finished caterpillar to be.
Cut a lentgh of wire about 1 1/2 inches for the second antenna.
Use the round nose pliers to curl the ends of both wires.
Twist the wires together.

Poke other end of the long wire through the pompoms starting with the one you want for the head and slide them up to the antennas.

When you've filled your wire, use your round nose pliers to curl up a little nub to hold the pom poms in place.

Use hot glue gun to adhere googlie eyes to caterpillar's head.

S (age 7) did all the pompom threading on her own, but I helped with the wire & glue gun work.  J (age 5) struggled a bit with the pompom threading.  AJ (age 2) mostly had fun trying to figure out how to deconstruct the finished caterpillars.

In a week or so when the catepillars have lost their novelty, I'm pretty sure we can recycle these pompoms for a new something marvelous!