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ABC Caterpillar: A Letter Recognition Activity

Is there any better way to learn the alphabet than with a cute ABC caterpillar? This adorable activity promotes letter recognition and builds pre-reading skills.

Young boy building ABC caterpillar

As your child inches his way through the alphabet with this colorful caterpillar, he can practice recognizing letters, matching uppercase and lowercase letters, and placing letters in a-b-c order. Older children can even spell simple words! Our free download includes caterpillar letter cutouts so that your child can build the alphabet with uppercase and lowercase letters. We’ve also included lots of ideas for creative (and educational!) alphabet play.

ABC Caterpillar activity download three-page spread

Instructions for the ABC Caterpillar

  1. Download and print a set of ABC caterpillar letters.
  2. Cut out your caterpillar pieces and laminate for added durability.
  3. Play!

Playing with Your ABC Caterpillar

Beginning with the caterpillar’s face, your child can build his own caterpillar, starting with A, then B, and continuing through the alphabet.

Working on uppercase letters? Build your caterpillar with the uppercase letters.

Preschooler building ABC caterpillar

Ready for lowercase? Use a set of lowercase letters.

Preschooler building ABC caterpillar

Use the ABC Caterpillar to Explore the Alphabet

Create an A-Z caterpillar using an entire set of letters. Or use both sets of letters and match lowercase and uppercase letters.

Preschooler matching letters

Have your child spell his name …

Young boy spelling name

… or have an older child create some simple words.

Preschooler spelling 'cat'

No matter your child’s age or skill level, there are lots of ways you can use this activity to reinforce your child’s knowledge of letters and the alphabet!

Do you have a favorite alphabet-building activity to use with your preschooler? Share in the comments below!

If your child enjoyed this activity, why don’t you try our other letter recognition activities, too?

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Elizabeth H.

says:
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What a fun preschool game

Rachel Martinez

says:

Such an interactive way to learn! Talk about “hands” on!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Thanks, Rachel!

Kristina

says:

This is super cute!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Thank you, Kristina!

Allison

says:

Great idea! Sister needs “school” activities while big brother does school

Robin

says: Customer Service

Allison,
If you haven’t seen them yet, we have LOTS of ideas for little ones for fun learning. Check out our Preschool Archives.

Anna

says:

I love how hands on this is and that the upper and lowercase letters are the same colors. Great for visual learners!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Thank you, Anna! Yes, there are lots of way this printable can be used for learning fun!

Sharicka Forde

says:

my son is gonna love this! <3

Robin

says: Customer Service

Wonderful! I hope your son has lots of fun with this, Sharicka.

Hannah Battaglia

says:

So many wonderful idea. Love that they allow child to think outside the box and have that hands on learning that they love.

Robin

says: Customer Service

Thank you, Hannah!

Shauna

says:

Okay not me sitting here trying to think of ways to include more adorable bugs in my kiddos educational activities, haha! Love this. Can be a whole cute theme, thanks for sharing!

Robin

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Shauna! Have fun with this adorable bug!

Rosa

says:

Every time I read a blog post here, I learn an idea or become inspired. Thank you for the great tips! This one is perfect for my preschooler starting this Fall, but I think my Kindergartener would also love it. Actually, I’m pretty sure my older kids will get a kick out of building a word caterpillar too.

Robin

says: Customer Service

Thank you, Rosa! It’s wonderful to hear that you find the blog so helpful and inspiring!

Stephanie

says:

This is such a cute activity! Saving this for when my little one is ready for it!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Thank you, Stephanie. I think this activity is one of the cutest we have!

McKenna

says:

Cute!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Thank you, McKenna.

Susan

says:

This is a fun activity

Robin

says: Customer Service

Thank you, Susan!

Elizabeth Snyder

says:

This is so cute! What a fun,hands on way to learn for young kids!

Alicia

says:

I love all the free downloads AAL provides! They help bring the fun to a challenging subject for my daughter. Even though she struggles to read, she says it’s her favorite subject.

Robin

says: Customer Service

Thank you, Alicia! I love hearing that reading is her favorite subject!

Alex P.

says:

Super cute way to learn!!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Thank you, Alex!

Veronica Demski

says:

This is adorable! I’ll need to print this out soon. So many uses for learning.

Robin

says: Customer Service

Veronica,
Glad you like it. I hope you have lots of fun learning with this activity!

Linda Legere

says:

Such a great way to learn and very engaging!

Mychal

says:

I love this idea!!! It reinforces capital and the ‘matching’ lower case.

Robin

says: Customer Service

Thanks, Mychal!

Heidi

says:

I love that this activity has both upper and lower case letters to practice with. Colorful and cute!

Rebecca Davis

says:

This is a great way to practice! Very hands on!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Thanks, Rebecca!

Heather

says:

Sometimes my youngest needs (extra) help remembering the lower case letters and this was such fun way to practice. Thank you !!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Heather,
I’m so glad this helped your child master the lower case letters!

Elizabeth

says:

This would be fun to extend with other toys as well! For example, you could ask your child to find an animal or food toy item that begins with a particular letter sound, then place that toy on top of the letter! You could also flip the uppercase and lowercase caterpillar letters upside-down to create a matching game for an older child!

Robin

says: Customer Service

What wonderful ideas you have, Elizabeth! This printable can be extended in so many ways!

Sarah Merrill

says:

I like the variety of matching letters A and a, order, color connection if you print them in color, exploring words or their name. It’s open ended!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Great ideas, Sarah! Thank you.

M W

says:

This looks so fun!

Suzanne Lockridge

says:

My 6yo really has a hard time pronouncing some of her letters. This is perfect for her , to help her see visually she knows them.

Robin

says: Customer Service

Suzanne,
I’m glad this activity will be a help for your child!

Melissa Harrington

says:

This is super cute!!! I can use this with my youngest who begins kindergarten this fall.

Robin

says: Customer Service

I hope your youngest has a lot of fun with this activity, Melissa!

Lisa

says:

I love this idea!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Thanks, Lisa!

Nikki

says:

this looks so fun!

Ali

says:

This looks like such activity for my preschooler. Thank you for all the fun additional games!

Robin

says: Customer Service

You’re so welcome, Ali! I hope your preschooler has a blast with this!

Rachael

says:

This will be awesome for my pre-k son who is just starting to recognize letters!

Robin

says: Customer Service

I hope your son has lots of fun and learning with this activity, Rachael!