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Have you ever wanted a caterpillar as a pet? If so, this is the next best thing. An easy craft experiment, where your child can appreciate nature while flexing their creative muscles.

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Pull paper off pencil and add dark caterpillar markings.

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Put the caterpillar on a plate and add a bit of water.

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Caterpillars basically never stop eating. Their entire job is to eat and grow — and they're seriously good at it. A monarch caterpillar can grow nearly 2,000 times its original size in just two weeks. All that eating matters because caterpillars store the energy they'll need for metamorphosis. Once they've grown big enough, they stop eating, find a safe spot, and form a hard shell called a chrysalis. Inside, the transformation happens and a butterfly emerges on the other side.&nbsp;<img src="https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/blt5d966d0d1776691c/blt8b7becc3711afd9e/6a46e0aa57597878e0ff855b/growingcaterpillar_learnmore.jpg" alt="growingcaterpillar_learnmore.jpg" height="auto"/>

paper towels

markers

pencil

glue

water

plate

Growing Caterpillars

Halloween

Halloween crafts

costumes

pretend play

easy craft

reused craft materials

Release your child’s inner nature-lover this Halloween with this darling &amp; simple snail costume!Looking for more creative costumes for your little one? <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo's</a> <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/motorized-wings-costume-project-kit/4547" target="_self">Motorized Wings</a> let their imagination take flight with a set of flapping wings!

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Cut 6 feet (1.8 meters) of kraft paper and crumple it up.

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Uncrumple and roll the kraft paper lengthwise. Then twist it up.

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Tightly roll the twisted kraft paper into a spiral and use hot glue to secure the roll as you go. Hold the roll in place for a couple minutes each time you add glue.

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Repeat Steps 1-4 to make a second spiral.

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Cut two 1 foot (30.5 cm) pieces of kraft paper. Then roll and twist them. These will be the tentacles for the snail’s eyes!

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Glue the pom-poms to the top of the tentacles and add on googly eyes if you have them. Then glue the tentacles to the headband. It works best if you wrap the ends around the bottom of the headband. Be sure to hold them in place to secure the glue for several minutes!

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Cut a piece of cardboard so the length is slightly larger than the kraft paper spirals and the width is slightly smaller than your child’s back.

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Poke holes in the corners of the cardboard. Measure around your child’s arms (like your fitting a backpack) and adjust the length of the rope or ribbon. Tie the rope or ribbon onto the cardboard.

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Glue the kraft paper spirals together. Once the glue has dried, turn them on their side and glue the snail shell onto the cardboard. You’ll need a lot of glue to secure the shell so be sure to hold it in place for several minutes!

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Most land snails are pretty small, but did you know certain species can grow to be much bigger? The African Giant Snail is about 8 inches long (20 cm) on average. That’s longer than a brand new pencil!<img data-image="34qzt9fb9txn" src="https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/blt5d966d0d1776691c/blt483895d299b2ed82/615b86b615005a5ff8fbcdb4/shutterstock_1257388279.jpg" data-sys-asset-uid="blt483895d299b2ed82" alt="shutterstock_1257388279.jpg">

kraft packing paper

Cardboard Rectangle

rope or ribbon

headband

hot glue gun

large pom poms

googly eyes (optional)

Snail Costume

nature science

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summer

plants

Fourth of July

Nothing ruins a great picnic celebration like mosquito bites. This year, I'm going to make some natural DIY mosquito repellent that also serves as decoration so that my family and I can enjoy the weekend festivities without any unwanted visitors. I was surprised how easy the DIY mosquito repellent jars were to make, and that all I needed were a few ingredients from the produce section of the grocery store. Once I had the lemons, limes, and rosemary, it only took me a few minutes to make each container. Plus, I could make them before the party and just screw the lid on tight until it was party time.

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Gather the materials you need to make your natural DIY mosquito repellent.

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Slice up the lemons and the limes. Have a grownup assistant help with this step.

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Fill the water about 3/4 of the way up with water. 

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Place a few slices of lemon and lime on top of the water. 

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Place a floating tea light candle on top. Your DIY mosquito repellent is ready! Now, when it's time to party, all you have to do is light the candle. Use them at your next picnic, backyard party, or camping trip to keep those pesky mosquitoes away. It's the natural essential oils in the plants that make this DIY mosquito repellent effective. They don't like them, which means they won't be hanging around your party.

jar / glass jar / mason jar

lemons

limes

rosemary

floating tea light candle

knife

Natural DIY Mosquito Repellent

3 material crafts

summer crafts

homemade craft

quick craft

painting

luminary

Catching fireflies is a summer tradition, but you can have "fireflies" in a jar any time of the year with this easy craft. 

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A jar or any glass container will work for this craft along with glow in the dark paint found at a craft store. 

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Squeeze dots of glow in the dark paint onto the sides and bottom of your jar. You could also dab it on with a Q tip. 

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You can decorate one jar to use for a nightlight or several jars to use for an outdoor decoration. I think these look beautiful lining a sidewalk for a party!

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The "fireflies" will recharge themselves in the light and glow each night for Summer fun all year long. 

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glow in the dark paint

Firefly Jars

outdoor game

backyard games

game

launcher

At KiwiCo, we love launchers because they're a super fun way to play with physics! With this project, your kids can turn a few rubber bands into a stretchy web that launches spiders across the room. While they make their launchers, you can talk to you kids about potential and kinetic energy!

There are a lot of different kinds of launchers: cannons, slingshots, catapults. And while they may look different, they all get their power the same way! And rubber bands are a great way to demonstrate this. Ask your child to stretch out one of the rubber bands by holding one side with their left hand and pushing out the other side with their right pointer finger. Make sure no one is around, and then tell your child to release their left hand so that the rubber band flings forward. Now, you can explain that two different types of energy are used to make a rubber band fly. When the rubber band is stretched out, but not moving yet, potential energy is building up. When the rubber band is let go, all that potential energy makes the rubber band move — fast. That's kinetic energy!

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Cut the construction paper to fit the tube. Then, wrap it around the cardboard tube and glue it down.

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Glue the lollipop sticks around the outside of the tube, creating a square. Let the glue dry completely for approximately 1 to 2 hours before beginning the next step.

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Stretch one rubber band around all four posts. Then, twist each corner of the rubberband and re-stretch it around each post. 

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Push down the first rubber band. Then, stretch a second rubber band around all four posts. 

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Stretch the first rubber band up and over the second on each post. 

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Pull back on the web and point the launcher in the direction you want to shoot the spider. Then, let go!

cardboard tube - wide mouth, We used the inside of a roll of packing tape

rubber bands (5)

lollipop sticks (4)

white glue

construction paper - colorful

plastic spiders

Scissors

Spider Launcher

art project

sound science

sounds

Preschool kids will need some grown-up assistance getting started, but kids of all ages (and grown-ups!) can't resist playing with this very noisy buzzing bee! It's not just a toy, though--it's also a fun way for kids to explore how vibrations create sound.

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Start by cutting your index card to be a little bit shorter than the craft stick.&nbsp;

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Now it's time to decorate your bee. We went for black and yellow stripes with googly eyes, but feel free to decorate however you like.

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When you're happy with your bee, flip it over so it's face-down on the table. Cut a long, thin strip of sticky foam and use that to attach the card to the stick.

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Now cut four squares of the craft foam, sized so they fit over the end of the craft stick. Tape two squares onto both ends of the craft stick.

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Tie the yarn to the end of the craft stick.  Stretch the rubber band around the sticky foam squares on each side.  

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Finally, stretch the rubber band over the craft stick, making sure it's not twisted. We tested several, and discovered that the rubber band needs to be really tight around the stick. It's also important that the rubber band is wider than it is thick--narrow rubber bands won't buzz.

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We tested several, and discovered that the rubber band needs to be really tight around the stick. It's also important that the rubber band is wider than it is thick--narrow rubber bands won't buzz.

20 at-home bugs projects for kids

Screen-free fun!