There are so many ways you can use plastic spiders to create awesome learning activities and spider crafts. From crafts and books to fine motor skills and counting, your kids will love these spider activities.
Does your child think spiders are creepy? Do you? I can relate. The best way to overcome any fears or uncomfortableness is to read about them together, learn interesting facts, and talk about it.
The plastic spiders can be found at every store this time of year and they are inexpensive. Why not put them to use in some learning activities? Use these wonderful spider activities for Halloween fun in the month of October or as you learn about spiders in a preschool spider theme.
Spider Crafts
This spider bracelet craft is simple to make and super fun to wear using pipe cleaners and plastic spider rings. Make matching bracelets with your friend or include this activity in a Halloween party.
Spider Web Process Art
Paint with spiders using different colors just like they did at Fantastic Fun and Learning. Another idea is to use white paint on black construction paper for a spider web look. After the paint dries, add pieces of string and glue to your art.
Spider Activities
These free, printable spider web counting cards from Miss Maes Days using plastic spiders is an awesome math activity! Put the number of spiders onto each web. This activity encourages number recognition and one-to-one correspondence.
PreKinders shows us how to use white yarn to wrap and unwrap spiders. Although this is not how real spiders spin webs, this spider activity is fantastic for fine motor skill development.
The Preschool Experiment has this invitation to scoop spiders using slotted spoons, rice, and plastic spiders. This is an excellent way to develop wrist strength and wrist rotation.
Have spider races like they did at Still Playing School using straws and plastic spiders. Help your spider get up the water spout the fastest. So fun!
Teaching Mama showed us how to turn a container and spiders into a busy bag for fine motor skills.
Make your own spider web using painters tape like they did at Hands on as We Grow, then toss spiders toward your web. How many will stick? This game uses gross motor skills and counting. Painters tape is just the best for making learning fun! Make roads for your child to drive their match box cars on, make an indoor hopscotch path, or even create an obstacle course!
Happy Toddler Playtime has this great fine motor activity of rescuing the plastic spiders from oobleck (you could use anything) with tweezers. I love the idea of the challenge of rescuing the spiders. She also included other objects and added the challenge of sorting the objects into different bowls.
Pre-K Pages shows us how to use spiders to make patterns. This is a great activity for matching as well as making and extending patterns.
Use a laundry basket, string, and plastic spiders to make this giant spider web game. It’s a great way to create a fine motor challenge for little hands like they did at Fun Learning for Kids. After you are all done with the activity, challenge your child to cut the string with scissors.
Make spider parachutes using a coffee filter, string, and a plastic spider. Experiment with your spider parachute by dropping it down from a high place. So much fun! What will happen if you use more than one coffee filter or attach more than one spider?
Add this to your lesson plans! Spider addition is a great addition activity using this free printable from Glued to My Crafts. This is a great visual for beginning to learn the concept of addition.
I love this DIY book and interactive craft from Teacher by the Beach. It uses a plastic little spider as a prop to manipulate as you read through the book. Brilliant!
Fun Games 4 Learning has a fun way of using two different colors of plastic spiders in a game of tic tac toe. This is the perfect game to put into your purse for travel, waiting rooms, and restaurants. You are never too old for a game (or three) of tic tac toe!
Check out this spider play dough invitation from Fantastic Fun and Learning. Including the googly eyes, pipe cleaners, and straws is the perfect combination for exploring and creating.
Don’t forget to sing Itsy Bitsy Spider and memorize the rhyme of Little Miss Muffet!
Two of our Favorite Books about Spiders (affiliate links)
The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle
I’m Trying to Love Spiders by Bethany Barton
This book will help you overcome any fear you or your child may have about spiders as you learn new facts about spiders and why they are important.
From counting and adding to painting and experimenting with parachutes, these spider activities are the perfect way to make learning fun! one of these fun spider activities will you try first?
