Well, that was rude of me!

Remember this picture? I never did tell you what I was doing with all that stuff. Well, a few did guess it correctly, we were making caterpillars.

As Pioneer Woman would say, here are the cast of characters:

Potting mix, grass seed, pantyhose, colorful hair ties, googlie eyes, pipe cleaners and a big bucket.

Throw some potting mix into your bucket. Be very precise with your measuring here. Just kidding, throw in there what looks like a good amount to fill the amount of pantyhose you will be using. For our project we were using two pantyhose.

Now add your grass seed. Don't be stingy here. Do you want a fuzzy, furry caterpillar or one that looks like it is already balding? We probably used about 3/4 cup of seed. Again, be very precise in your measuring. Okay, kidding again.

Have the kids get their hands dirty and mix it all up. Hey, did you notice there is actually a "girl" in our house? Amazing huh? It's our neighbor, I watch her on Fridays. I'm going to have to talk to her mom about her clothes. If she is going to be here I think she should be covered in pink from head to toe, don't ya think? Where else am I going to get my pink? Okay, now it's time to start filling the pantyhose. Looky there, it's starting to look like something. More like a worm than a caterpillar, better fill it up good. Also, hindsight on our caterpillars, the grass grows through better if the pantyhose is filled tightly. So either buy the smallest pair or don't let the kids stretch them out before you fill them, or the easiest way is just to fill it as full as you can.

Hey, it really is looking like something!

Add your colorful hair ties to give the caterpillar some life! Then glue on some googlie eyes. Take a bit of pipe cleaner and wrap it around a pencil to make it curl for the antenna. Cut a tiny hole in the pantyhose to stick the antenna in.
Make little trays out of foil that is at least two thicknesses. Curl up the sides to keep the water in. Now time for water! Most of the water is going to run off the caterpillar at first. "Like water on a ducks back". That's our saying here for not letting problems get to you, just let them roll of your back. Anyway, the water will stay in the tray if you made some good edges to it. The kids then spent time with a spoon just spooning the water back on top of the caterpillar. They loved it and I loved that it really took them some time to do that step.

Now keep it in a sunny window and keep it moist then ..... wait....... wait.......... wait.........

TADA!!! Our caterpillar. And this guy looks like he's ready for a hair cut already. Have fun with the project. Its a great teaching opportunity for the kids.