I think kids have been making these spider headbands as a craft/activity since before I was a preschooler...and for great reason! They are fun to make, and even more fun to wear! Plus, they give you a chance to talk about spider anatomy and biology!
I've been putting together a collection of our spider activities and crafts, and I realized that I haven't written about this classic little headband! So today I'm fixing that!
Like most crafts, this project gives your preschoolers a chance to exercise their fine motor skills and still inject their own personal ideas into the project!
One of the reasons this is so popular is that it uses very basic materials: everyone has black construction paper, wiggly eyes, glue, and tape in their craft bin! And if you don't have black construction paper, my kids have actually made these spiders in a variety of colors...most of my girls have gone through a "rainbow" phase where everything they make (including spiders) is rainbow colored!
I especially enjoy making these little spiders during October because we usually do a week-long Spider Theme before Halloween each year. I actually love spiders, and I love encouraging my kids to appreciate them!
Spider Craft: an 8-Legged Headband!
Each spider will require one large piece of construction paper. I either pre-cut it as shown in the picture below or draw lines for the kids to cut on, depending on their scissor skills.
Let your preschoolers fold the "legs" back and forth to create a cool zig-zaggy effect.
Help your preschoolers attach the legs with either glue, tape, or staples. I prefer to use tape because it dries instantly and the kids can do it by themselves, but a lot of the kids are pretty good with staplers too. If you have another spider activity they can do while the headbands dry, glue works great, but most of the time I've noticed my kids want to wear them the instant they finish making them...and glue makes that a little tricky. :) While we attach the legs we talk about how spiders have 8 legs, and they are all attached to the cephalothorax. (Spiders have two main body parts: the cephalothorax {made of the head and thorax fused together} and the abdomen.)
While you're helping with the legs, other preschoolers can start working on the eyes! Most spiders (like 99%) have 8 eyes, but some have only 6 eyes, and very few have 4, 2, or 0 eyes! Brown recluses might be one of the more famous spiders with only 6 eyes. This was actually once the source of stress for one of my daughters--she went to a summer camp about bugs, and answered a trivia question (How many eyes do spiders have?) with 6. Of course, she was right (because some spiders only have six eyes), but the counselor would only accept "8" as a correct answer. Fortunately, now that quite a few years have gone by, she is no longer stressed out by the situation. :)
Anyway, I like to provide the wiggly eyes and glue, and let the kids get creative. It turns out that the arrangement of eyes in real life is actually consistent within a species, and you can use the arrangement of those eyes to identify a spider species! For preschoolers, though, I just like to let them put on the number and arrangement of eyes that they want.
Finally, I measure the headbands and tape them together. Most kids need the two lengths to go around their heads, but they usually overlap different amounts. It only takes me a second to measure it and stick a piece of tape on.
Then, ta da! Instant little spiders! I like to put the hats on and sing "Eensy Weensy Spider" with the kids before turning them loose to crawl around the house!
If you're looking for more spider crafts and activities, be sure to check out our collection HERE! I have more crafts, printable activities, science experiments, and more! I also have a couple dozen preschool themes HERE!
Happy Educating,
Carla
Never miss another post again! Sign up for our weekly updates newsletter and get links to all our posts once a week in your inbox! Sign up here!!
0 comments:
Post a Comment