Spring Carnival Game Idea - Crazy Caterpillar!

Easy to make using Craft Supplies & Plastic Buckets.

Kids toss "Caterpillar Eggs" to match bucket color.

CRAZY CATERPILLAR GAME - SETUP & DIRECTIONS

This short Carnival Savers video/gif shows colorful plastic buckets arranged in the shape of a caterpillar with foam balls being tossed.

Supplies for Crazy Caterpillar Game:

9 Plastic Buckets (and weights for buckets if it is breezy)
12 - 24 Sponge Balls to act as "Caterpillar Eggs"
12 Large Pipe Cleaners to act as Antennae and Legs
Poster Board, 4 Green Sheets, 1 Blue
2 Large Googly Eyes
Clear, sticky Packing Tape
Small Baskets to hold 5 Sponge Balls each
Stand Behind Lines (plastic cones, sidewalk chalk, or pool noodles cut in half)
Consolation, Medium, and Top Prizes - See Spring-Themed Carnival Prize Ideas Below!

Make This Game:

Before your spring event, make this cute caterpillar - it took us about 20 minutes - it was so easy!

Simply draw a large leaf design on your 3 green pieces of poster board and cut it out. Next, using the large side of a plastic bucket, trace a circle out of the blue poster board and make the face of your caterpillar. Next, using your packing tape, add the googly eyes to your circle as shown and tape to your bucket.

Your next step is to form your antenna by twisting two large pipe cleaners together at the base and curling the ends. Using strong tape, attach the antenna to the inside of your bucket.

Finally, we used the bucket handles to hold our caterpillar's legs in place which were 1 matching colored large pipe cleaner bent as shown in our pictures.

Game Setup:

Simply lay out your leaves and add your caterpillar segments on top (we place them in rainbow order, but you can lay yours out however you wish) - nothing to it!

Place your Foam Balls "Caterpillar Eggs" in small baskets - 1 of each color which is 5 foam balls per basket!

Set out your Stand Behind Lines.

Note: When we put the game together - the sponge balls were not a perfect color
match for the buckets -but we thought the rainbow of color of the buckets for the caterpillar looked adorable!

Our solution was to simply have kids toss the red ball into the bright pink bucket. In addition, we told the carnival players if a ball landed
in the purple bucket it did not count. This made the game little more challenging and it worked great!

How to Play this Easy Spring Carnival Game:

Children are handed 5 Caterpillar Eggs (sponge balls) in a small basket - one of each color.

The object of the game is to land each one of the balls in a matching color bucket to get a point.

One way to pass out winnings:

0 - 1 Eggs in Matching Buckets = a consolation prize
2 - 3 Eggs in Matching Buckets = a middle prize
4 Eggs in Matching Buckets= a nicer middle
5 Eggs in Matching Buckets= a top prize

Additional Hints & Tips:

Of course, this can easily be set up and played inside in a school hallway or gym too!

Note: On a really breezy day, this game could be frustrating to play outside as the foam balls will be hard to toss. Feel free to move your Crazy Caterpillar inside if you are having trouble with wind gusts!

This is a fantastic game for School Spring Carnivals and Easter Egg Hunts too! We love that the buckets stack for storage and of course, the large leaves store flat. This simple DIY game can be used for years to come!