Counting Caterpillars Number Sense Activity

If you're looking for an engaging math activity to use with your preschoolers this spring, try this build-a-caterpillar number sense activity. It is perfect for you! This activity will help your young learners practice number recognition, subitizing, and matching in a fun hands-on way. 

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Counting Caterpillars

This activity is perfect for your spring, summer, and caterpillar- or butterfly-themed homeschool preschool activities. All you need to do to get started is print the caterpillar pages and cut out all of the pieces. I know this part may seem fairly time consuming, but your preschoolers will think it's time well spent. Then, your preschoolers are ready for some caterpillar counting math fun.

I suggest printing the pages on cardstock and laminating for durability. This will help extend the life of your printables so you can use them over and over again. In this math activity, students will build caterpillars as they work on number recognition and counting/subitizing. This activity is a great way to have students practice number sense. 

To complete this activity, children will spread out all of the caterpillar heads. There are ten. From there, little ones will choose a head and identify the number on it. After that, preschoolers will search for the body parts that represent the same number. They'll need to find three for each head - one with counting fingers, one with tally marks, and one with a ten frame.

If you're working on subitizing with your little ones, see if they can identify the correct numbers by sight - three fingers = 3 - instead of counting each one.  However, if your preschoolers are still working on counting, have them count aloud as they search for the correct body parts. 

Older preschoolers and kindergarteners should be able to sort through all of the caterpillar parts to build all ten, but younger kids may need to start with just two or three caterpillars at a time.

Click Here to Download your FREE Counting Caterpillars Number Sense Activity

This post was contributed by:

Tara from Homeschool Preschool

Tara is wife to Matt and homeschool momma of three. She has successfully homeschooled her oldest two, and is currently homeschooling her youngest. Though her children are older, she is always looking for an opportunity to create educational activities and content for young learners. She blogs about homeschooling, preschool activities, and other educational topics at Homeschool Preschool.

For more caterpillar and Spring theme printables, see the following post: