Spiders. Right now it is the season for spiders! I’m not a huge spider fan but can tolerate them from a distance. This past week we had a couple unplanned opportunities to study spiders. I capitalized on that and we went on a little bunny er spider trail this week!
Learning About Spiders
Observing Spiders
This first spider lives right above our dumpster. It’s a pretty big spider which kind of freaks me out. My son and I happened to be outside one afternoon while it was building its web. It was fascinating to see the thin silk come out of the spinneretes. We’ve gone out several days in a row and watched this spider work. We even saw it wrap up a fly!
Observing this spider over the past week allowed me to introduce spider vocabulary words and facts:
- spinneretes
- fangs
- arachnid
- cephalothorax
- abdomen
- pedipalps
- exoskeleton
- spiders have 8 legs
- spiders are not insects
- spiders have 2 body parts –the cephalothorax and abdomen
- most spiders have 8 eyes
Spider Web I Spy
On our last nature walk we played Spider Web I spy. We counted how many spider webs we could find on our walk. Did you know that abandoned spider webs are called cobwebs?
Spider Activities
Here are a couple spider activities we have done in the past or that I hope to add to our spider learning.
Spider Sort: Use this free spider printable for a sorting activity. For very young children, first have them sort between objects that are easy to distinguish which are spiders and which are not: plastic dog, cow, tooth, flag, spiders etc. With older preschoolers have them sort spiders from insects. This is harder to do! Most children need to count the legs to be sure.
Itsy Bitsy Spider Story Disks: Print the following Itsy Bitsy Spider printable out on cardstock. Use while telling the rhyme or for retelling. What came first? Second?
Play-Doh Spiders: Use plastic googley eyes and pipe cleaners and have kids create their own custom spiders!
The Very Busy Spider Activities: A couple years ago we did a special craft to go along with one of our favorite books, The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle.
Other Spider Activities from Around the Web:
- Spider Learning and Fine Motor Skills Activity from Twodaloo — this is so awesome! If you are looking for an awesome spider sensory activity/language learning activity— this is it!
- Not So Spooky Spiders from Teach Preschool — several cute spider activities showcased in this post.
We love the Backyard Books
Love Critters? Here are a few more we’ve studied:
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