How to make plasticine caterpillars?

A plasticine caterpillar is a simple craft that even a kid can handle. Modeling for children 2, 3-4 and 5-6 years old is very useful for the development of fine motor skills, and joint activities allow parents to spend time with preschoolers not bored, to instill in them new useful skills. Step-by-step master classes will help you learn more about how to mold a plasticine caterpillar with acorns, make it with chestnuts and other options for natural material quickly and beautifully.

For babies over 2 years old, the development of fine motor skills plays a special role. It is at this age that parents can already offer the child the opportunity to create the first independent crafts. The ideal solution for a trial approach will be a plasticine caterpillar, for the creation of which you need to master only the simplest operations: rolling balls and flattening them. The kid will cope with such a task perfectly.

A plasticine craft in the form of a caterpillar looks most realistic when created from green material, but other colors can be used. The procedure for sculpting will not be difficult.

• The modeling mass kneads well in the hands. She must become plastic. You can also take a special soft plasticine, which is easier for young children to handle at first.

• The selected block of plasticine is divided into several unequal parts. It is necessary to observe the proportionality of the elements - from the largest to the smallest.

• Roll a ball out of each blank. You need to put a piece of plasticine between straightened palms, move it with rotational movements. The prepared elements are laid out on a modeling board or oilcloth.

• The workpieces are slightly flattened.It is enough to ask the child to press them with his palm on top. You do not need to turn the largest ball into a cake, it remains rounded.

• Lay out the workpieces so that it is convenient to work with them. Connect the parts to each other, starting with the 1st ball. Press down tightly so that the parts of the caterpillar stick together.

• Roll small balls from plasticine of a contrasting color with a decrease in diameter. Flatten them. Decorate the body of the caterpillar by lining up the marks in a row.

• Give the insect a bend of the body, like a real caterpillar when moving.

• Attach eyes made of black and white plasticine to a large ball-head. Make a nose and a smile.

• Cut a leaf from a large green flat cake in a stack. Draw lines on it, giving it a resemblance to the present. Trim 1 edge slightly unevenly, as if it is corroded.

• Place the caterpillar on a makeshift leaf stand.

The craft is ready. The kid can be proud of the first experience in making bright and beautiful crafts on their own.

Kindergarten teachers during creative activities with children 3-4 years old offer kids the opportunity to do their first work in different techniques. The submission of the material occurs step by step, so the craft is obtained even by those who are engaged in creative assignments for the first time. For children 5-6 years old, tasks become more creative. They can already make an original support for the caterpillar or mold it with decorative elements that give it individuality and character.

Crafts made from natural raw materials are traditionally loved by teachers. There are many workshops that allow you to make a caterpillar with cones or acorns, but the most naturalistic result will be obtained if you combine plasticine with chestnuts. Also, dried feathery leaves (from willow) are useful for work.

The procedure for making crafts will be as follows:

• chestnuts are laid out on the board;
• small pieces are cut from brown plasticine, rolled into balls;
• chestnuts are fastened with plastic mass to each other sequentially, from larger to smaller;
• eyes are made of white and black plasticine, fixed on 1 link - the head of the caterpillar;
• balls or flat discs are molded from small pieces of bright plasticine, they decorate the body;
• the leaves (if any) with plasticine are attached to the head in the form of horns; in their absence, this part can be molded from plasticine.

Legs can be added to the caterpillar if desired.

A funny and funny caterpillar with a bow on its head will be an excellent choice for working with children of the middle and senior age group in preschool institutions. For crafts, you will have to prepare stamens for the "horns" or do without them. You will also need plasticine of the following shades: green, black, blue, pink, yellow, white.

Step-by-step instructions for making a funny caterpillar on a leaf are presented below.

• Prepare green plasticine for work. Separate 3 parts from it, reducing the size of each subsequent one. Roll each separate piece into a ball.

• Connect the resulting parts so that the spherical shape is not disturbed. This will be the body of the caterpillar.

• A ball with a smaller diameter than the last rolled one is cut off from the remaining green plasticine. It forms a cone-shaped tail, similar to a truffle candy. Placed on top of the last link in the body of the caterpillar so that the tip is curved upward.

• Cut off a significant part from a piece of green plasticine - the largest ball in diameter should be obtained from it. Then you need to roll the correct sphere. In its lateral part, rinse a groove with your finger.As a result, the top should turn out slightly narrower than the base of the workpiece.

• Place the resulting head on the body of the caterpillar. Fasten with the 1st link of the trunk.

• Mold 2 discs from small pieces of white plasticine. Give them a slightly oval shape. Fasten crafts over the indentation on the head. This is the foundation for the eyes. On top, it remains to add pupils from black plasticine, adding one white glare to them.

• Craft 2 small white plasticine discs. Place the caterpillars on the cheeks, like a blush.

• Gently roll very thin sausages out of black material. Make a smiling mouth out of a short segment. From the remains, create cilia around the eyes of the caterpillar.

• Roll the pink plasticine into a strip about 1 cm wide. Cutting off the desired length, bend the ends towards the center, forming a bow. With a stack, crush the plasticine, giving it a bulge in the middle. Fasten crafts on the head. Supplement with ready-made antennae or mold them from green plasticine.

• Roll 1 thin pancake from yellow, pink, blue material. Hearts are cut out. Attached to the sides of the body, 1 per link.

The remaining green plasticine can be rolled out by cutting out a leaf from it, place the caterpillar on the finished base. It can be in the form of a plastic sheet, paper or cardboard.

Children love bright colors. So why not bring them into a creative workshop? To make an unusual caterpillar with children, you can take plasticine of 3 bright colors; in addition, you will need black and white bars to decorate the craft.

The sequence of actions in the master class will be as follows:

• roll 3 balls of plasticine of each color plus one for the head;

• connect rounded blanks in series, alternating colors, the first will be the ball intended for the head;

• as the caterpillar forms, it is better to raise its front part a little, forming a bend;

• roll 2 sausages and 2 small balls from black plasticine, make "horns", fix crafts on the head;

• add eyes from a black base and small dots of white plasticine;
• make a bright "pancake" from a small ball of a contrasting color, this will be the nose of a caterpillar, attach it;
• roll up 2 sausage legs for 2 links.

It remains to draw a smile on the face of the caterpillar using a stack or a toothpick. A bright craft is ready.

Any version of the caterpillar from the given master classes can be improved by simply adding a stand made of thick green cardboard to it. It can be decorated with colored paper blades of grass or plasticine flowers, cut in the shape of a leaf, strewn with "berries" and other gifts of nature.

When sculpting a caterpillar from plasticine, it is recommended to prepare an oilcloth in advance, so as not to stain everything around with a sticky mass. It is also worth taking care of the availability of wet wipes in immediate access to wipe the baby's fingers before he pulls them into his mouth.

It is better to choose plasticine on a natural basis. For a younger age, a special soft version is produced, which is easy to knead in the palms of even babies. Alternatively, you can use a sculpting material that does not stick to your hands. It connects well, and after drying it becomes like a marshmallow. You can play with such a craft.

After working with any materials, the child should definitely wash his hands. If you have allergic reactions, it is better to protect your hands with disposable gloves of the appropriate size.

An illustrative lesson on modeling plasticine caterpillars can be found in the following video.