Spaghetti Spider Web and Handprint Spider

This is another activity we did last year, perfect for October. It accompanied one of his favorite books at the time, Eric Carle’s The Very Busy Spider. 

CREATING THE WEB: I decided to do this last minute since I had all the materials on hand anyway (anyone notice a trend here...we do A LOT of last minute activities!). All you need is cooked spaghetti, glue, and wax paper. Dip the spaghetti into the glue and then lay it onto the wax paper. When finished, let the glue dry completely and then peel it off the wax paper. It’s possible we used too much glue since after J was finished, I went back and drop some glue on the spots where the spaghetti overlapped.  The extra glue did help the “web” stick together, but made it hard to remove from the wax paper.  Obviously J's web is quite sporadic and not at all symmetrical, but boy did he have fun!

CREATING THE SPIDER: We traced J's handprints on black paper and then I helped him cut them out (removing the thumbs). J glued the palm portion of the handprints on top of each other, creating the spider's body and legs.  Next J glued black sponge curlers onto the spider body (you could use black pompoms).   The last step was adding the googly eyes.

J loved this activity, especially making the web. It was really easy but quite unique.









Becca also blogs at Fun and Engaging Activities for Toddlers.

Paper Cup Spider

This is a simple, fun craft to do at Halloween, while learning about insects, or while learning about the Eency Weency Spider nursery rhyme. This is something Brayden made a year ago at Preschool.

Age Range

Older Toddler and up.

Skills Taught

Fine motor

Supplies

• Paper cup
• Pipe cleaner cut into pieces (for legs)
• Eyes
• Marker for drawing if desired
• 1/8" elastic if desired (for putting around wrist)
• Glue

Prep

1. Cut paper cup down to size
2. Poke holes in paper cup for legs. This will make it easier for your child to get the legs in
3. Cut elastic to size
4. Cut pipe cleaner to size

Activity

This activity is simple. You have your child glue eyes on the spider and draw anything they want on the spider's body. You then have your child poke the pipe cleaner into the holes. Glue or staple the elastic to the bottom of the cup if desired. 

Your child can then put the cup on his wrist and walk it around and be a spider.

Fall Scenery

One of my favorite things to do is to create a huge thematic scene. I used to do it in the classroom during rain forest week, when we studied the ocean, and pretty much any time I could justify making a huge picture as a group.
A few things I always try to have on hand: rolls of brown (or any color) butcher paper, craft glue (like Tacky Glue), glitter, and sheets of foam and/or construction paper. The rest can really be improvised.
Charis and I have made wall hangings when learning about different subjects, and today's theme was Fall.

Materials Needed:(all are optional,this is just my personal list of what I used)

• Large sheet of paper, a plastic tablecloth, or even an old sheet


• Black, green, and orange construction paper and/or foam


• Orange and brown washable paint


• Foam paint brushes


• Baby food jar (1 plastic, lid included)


• Cotton swab


• Leaves (real and/or fake)


• Paper plate(s)


• Craft glue


• Glitter (any color)


• Pipe cleaners
  
• Twisted craft paper


• Wiggly eyes
  

This activity can be done in one day or you can break it up into steps and complete one or two a day.

Prep: Lay out brown paper (I put a plastic table cloth underneath because I knew I'd be using glitter and it's easier to shake out the cloth after).

• Cut out the spider pieces (body, legs), bird pieces (body, beak, and feet)


• Paint a large tree (if desired) on the paper for the bird and/or spiders.
  

Activity:

1. If the time of the year is right, have your child hunt for fall colored leaves. We found some pretty neat ones right in the front yard. Yes, my child is still in her pajamas *gasp*. What can I say? It was one of those kind of days.

2. Paint paper plates, turning them into pumpkins. You can glue leaves and a stem as well. It's a great opportunity to talk about parts of a plant.

3. Make twirly vines out of pipe cleaners. I showed her how to twist them around her finger.






4. Assemble the crows. I showed her some possibilities, but let her apply all the glue (with cotton swab), and position all the body parts where she wanted.







5. Next she assembled the spiders. I gave her the eyes and legs and explained that they have 4 on each side. I let her position them.

6. I stapled the vine down. We positioned the pumpkins while I explained how they grow on vines. I let her choose where to glue the leaves, birds and spiders. She glued them on with the craft glue.
7. Last I made a line of glue to look like the spider was hanging from a web. She sprinkled glitter.



8. We hung her picture in the hall at the house. It makes a very festive decoration!

Yarn Spider

This activity is not one that a child can do much of, but the kids love to play with it.

AGE RANGE
All kids can have fun playing with it. But only an older child can create it. I would say probably 4 and up. Some 3 year olds might be able to do it.

SKILLS TAUGHT

• Science (if you talk about spiders)
• Fine motor for the child who helps.

SUPPLIES

• Yarn
• Square piece of cardboard
• Scissors
• Pipe cleaner

ACTIVITY

1. Cut out a small square of cardboard
2. Wrap yarn around it
3. Tie a piece of yarn around it horizontally. Don't knot it because you will tighten it when you remove the cardboard
4. Use the scissors to cut the yarn wrapped around the cardboard
5. Remove the cardboard
6. Tighten the horizontal piece of yarn
7. Cut one side of the horizontal piece of yarn to be as long as the rest of the yard for the spider. Leave the other one long
8. Insert pipe cleaner
9. Add eyes if desired

PHOTOS
Here are some photos of the process. We did grey because we are learning about the color grey this week. The kids have had fun playing with them, but it really wasn't something my two year old could do at all.

CREDIT

I got this idea from Preschooler's Busy Book

Egg Carton Spiders

This is a fun little activity to do with your child around Halloween.

AGE RANGE

I got this idea from Preschooler's Busy Book. The book is written for ages 3-6. I did this with my 4 year old and 2.5 year old, so I know it can be done with a 2.5 year old. I would say if your child enjoys painting or coloring, she will enjoy this activity.

SKILLS DEVELOPED

• Science (if you talk about spiders)
• Art
• Fine motor skills

SUPPLIES

• Cardboard egg carton
• Scissors
• Pipe cleaners
• Paint, markers, or crayons
• Construction paper for eyes (or a marker)
• Glue (if you used construction paper)
• Thread or yarn (optional)

PREP

• Cut out the cup sections of the egg carton
• Get out supplies
• If you are painting and you are like me, prep the area (art smock/T-shirt/down to underwear and a vinyl tablecloth)

ACTIVITY

• Have your child color/paint the egg cup
• After the egg cup dries, insert pipe cleaner into the cup to be legs. I poked holes in the cup so the kids could insert it themselves and work on their fine motor skills
• Bend the pipe cleaner so it looks like legs
• Draw eyes or attach eyes out of construction paper
• Optional: attach string to the top so you can hang it somewhere

PHOTOS





This is kind of cheesy and they don't look a lot like spiders...but it is a fun thing to do.