Acorn Caterpillars {Fall Craft}

We live in a wooded suburban neighborhood with many oak trees. The roof of our car is proof! You'll notice a ton of dents from acorns plummeting to the ground. The acorns delight my daughter though, she has this attraction to every stick, stone, flower, and any natural element. Naturally, she gathers buckets of acorns, and come to think of it, I did the same thing when I was her age!

She's been begging me to make something with her out of all the acorns we have and I decided to jump on this seasonal opportunity, I love seeing her eyes light up. We sat there in the kitchen while Baby T was napping, glue gun getting hot, and pondered what to make out of these. As I started lining up acorns Baby E exclaimed "Caterpillar!" So there, it was entirely her idea, I just helped execute it and I'm looking forward to the autumn when I can trust her with a glue gun on her own. Well, apparently that's never because even I burned myself with hot glue while making these! 

If you have access to acorns and want to try making some yourself, it's such a fun craft! Here is what you'll need:

• 4 acorns + 1 with a 'hat' for each caterpillar
• Hot glue gun
• Leaves for placing caterpillars on
• Permanent marker

The one on the right is a little ant for Baby T

It's pretty self-explanatory, but here are some tips!

If you can't find acorns with 'hats' attached, just find some that are separated and glue them on.

Don't try making the caterpillar straight, make sure it is curved so that it doesn't roll over.

As you are making them, pre-assemble the acorns on a flat surface to make sure that when you glue them together, they sit flat and balanced.

Baby E's name is only 3 letters in Russian, so I let her write her own name, one letter on each acorn. Your child's name may be too long, but you could make a longer caterpillar, which may make it more fragile though.

When gluing the finished caterpillars onto leaves, let the hot glue cool slightly before placing on leaf or you'll just burn them. You could also try wood glue.

Don't leave any small children unattended with a hot glue gun, of course!

We gave these as little gifts to grandparents, one for grandpa George's grave as he recently passed away. They were all delighted at this little craft, I can imagine what a joy it is to get anything special from your grand children. These are more decorative than for play, they would break easily if you're rough on them. Baby T broke his little any in about three minutes of play. They are great for older children and to give away as gifts. You can also decorate with these, cute for window sills and mantles! 

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