Waldorf in the Home

An easy project with little ones is creating caterpillars with a pipe cleaner and wool.

I like to use green pipe cleaners – bend them in half and turn the sharp ends under. Curl the ends to make antennae, and to hold the wool on! Wrap small tufts of colored wool snugly around the length of the pipecleaner. Good wool will stay put when wrapped snugly. Keep the tufts tiny, or you will have big globs of wool trying to be wrapped around and it will not stay on. I just set out small wisps of colors for the children to choose from…they can put many layers on, but small ones. That is it! Easy and lovely.

Butterflies are equally simple. Cut a pipe cleaner in half – I also use a green pipe cleaner for this – fold it in half again and as before, bend in the sharp ends, and curl them a bit for antennae. Have fluffs of colored wool out around 4” long or so. Let the children gather some wisps of colors, insert them in between the folded pipe cleaner and wrap the pipe cleaner around the wool…ending up with the antennae ends at the top, and the colorful wooly wings spread open wide. Some children like to use the same colors for their caterpillar and butterfly…

Now use these caterpillar and butterfly puppets with the children to tell a spring story poem.

A Caterpillar crawled to the top of a tree.
‘I think I’ll take a nap’, said he.
So under a leaf he began to creep
To spin his cocoon and he fell asleep.

All winter long he slept in his bed,
Til spring came along one day and said,
‘Wake up, wake up little sleepyhead,
Wake up, it’s time to get out of bed’.

So he opened his eyes that sunshiny day.
Oh! He was a butterfly and flew away!

(Note – I think this is traditional; I have heard it and variations of it, and used it many times over the years…if you have a source for it please let me know.)

Tips for presenting – I use a large spring green silk over my shoulder, tucked in at the back of my neck. The butterfly can be tucked in under the folds of the silk. When the caterpillar climbs up the green tree, and spins his cocoon, he can be hidden in another fold of the silk, right next to the butterfly…this way the transformation is smooth and comes out of the same space. The pipe cleaner can be bent in a curve for the caterpillar to crawl along…The butterfly will of course fly with a light touch.

Spring Resources for Classroom and Home

Spring Tales, a collection of spring poems and stories that are visually alive which make them great for puppetry, and also for telling to young children. One of my favorite stories in this book is Fairy Cradles…an adaptation of an old English legend about a dear old woman who loved her garden and helped the fairies who left their babies there while they went off to dance in the fairy ring. $10.95 plus s&h

Our Finger Puppet Book has a number of farm animal patterns and poems which come in handy for bringing fun and magic to spring farm trips to see the baby animals. $22.95 plus s&h

My personal favorite of my spring finger puppet kits made of strong wool felt is Mama Bird and her three babies in a wooly nest…This comes with a poem story. One of our best sellers, this kit is now only $12.95 plus s&h

NEW story kit: Little Brown Bulb – comes with an early spring story and needle felting kit from Felting Needle Magic © for lap puppets of little brown bulb, first crocus flower, and little ladybug, will still be appropriate in some of our northern communities…$14.95 plus s&h

NEW Blossom Baby kit by Felting Needle Magic © - a sweet flower child with softest spring wool colors for her dress and petals. Comes with felting needle and sponge workbase $9.95 plus s&h

Nature dyed Spring Hues wool bags – My favorite wool, border leceister, the very best for needle felting and wonderful for wet felting…available in luscious spring colors – great for caterpillar and butterfly activity below. This is the wool used in the kits. Large bag for many projects - $20. also available in White roving $15. bags.

With all my traveling please email is best, or call in an order 1 888-688-7333 and give me your mailing address and phone number. I will email or call you back! Payment is with check or m.o. made payable to me – Suzanne Down…mailed to PO Box 1688, Port Angeles WA 98362