Preschool Spiders Theme

Below you can find tons of fun and engaging Preschool spiders activities!
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Planning your Spiders Theme

Club Members can download all of our spider activities and theme guide for free.
Not a member? Learn More Here

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Download our Free Spiders Preschool Sample Lesson Plan

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Spider Stamping

I love easy crafts where you can use recycled items. For this you will use a toilet paper roll, cut four slits on each side of the bottom, it will make eight legs. Invite the child to dip it in black paint and stamp onto paper. Add googly eyes to your spiders!

Spider Web String Painting

Explore the process of painting with strings to create fun spider webs. This invitation is fun and simple, be sure to provide plenty of materials for children to repeat and create a variety of designs. 

Spooky Marble Spider Web

​This Spooky Marble Spider Web project from Tinkerlab is the perfect way to round up your week.

Fingerprint Spiders

Have children make prints of each of their fingers using different colored ink pads. Then have them draw legs and eyes on each print to make their own unique fingerprint spiders

                                  Sweet Spider Treat

Have children stick pretzel stick legs into a double stuff oreo and add 8 mini chocolate chips eyes using white frosting for the spider's eyes.

Paper Plate Spider Web lacing craft

Cut the center out of a paper plate, punch holes all the way around the center hole. Children run string through the holes until all holes have been filled and there is a nice web in the middle. Complete by creating a spider out of an egg carton (use one well from the carton) or black construction paper to place on top.

Spider Web Tape Resist

Provide your students with a small canvas, or a paper plate, paint (tempera, or acrylics if using a canvas), and fine line masking tape. Allow students to gently add tape strips to their paper plate or canvas, in any random pattern. After the tape has been added have you students fill in the white space, with paint. After your piece has completely dried, have your student gently remove the tape from their paper plate /canvas.
Teacher tip: Sticking the tape to your pants, and removing it, before applying it to the piece will make it less sticky and easier to remove.

Spider Hats

Use black construction paper, to make a headband. Cut out 8 strips (vertically) from black craft paper! Have your students practice accordion folding the legs (back an forth). Secure each of the legs to the head band, along with a black circle spider "face", googly eyes, and 2 white triangle fangs.

*Spider Exhibit

*Turn the  dramatic play into a spider exhibit this week, with this
Spider exhibit dramatic play pack from Pre-K Printable Fun!

Spider Hunting 

Turn your dramatic play area into a spider hunt, create spider webs in the dramatic play area and place spiders throughout the web. Encourage the students to catch the spider.

Set up a Arachnologist Lab

Pretend to be an Arachnologist this week.

Spider Dress Up

Provide black cloth and leggings stuffed with newspapers for children to dress up like spiders

Spider Puppets

Have spider and other puppets for children to act out popular nursery rhymes such as
The Itsy Bitsy Spider or Little Miss Muffet.

Spider Small World Play

Add pretend spiders, and webs to your building space. You can also include other outdoor items such as moss, black beans (or dirt), sticks.

Add Yarn

Include yarn or string to your building space, so that your students can turn their structures into spider webs. 

Language & Literacy  Activities from the Spider Activity Pack

*Spider Web Alphabet Match*

Flip and Find Letter Matching: Practice matching letters by flipping a spider letter card and marking the matching letter on the web.

Pre-Writing Practice*

Work on pre-writing practice with this activity. Use a marker or try lining up spiders from left to right. ​

Spider 3-Part Cards*

Learn the names of all kinds of fascinating spiders with these 3-part cards!

Spider Patterning*

Learning to identify and extend a pattern are important skills for children to learn before they learn to read. Add this spider patterning activity from the Spiders Activity Pack for hands on practice. 

Spider Names

Write or print out a child's name on a piece of paper, give them plastic spiders to place the spiders on the letters in their name for a spelling activity. 

Spiders vs. Insects

Create a class chart showing how spiders are the same and different from each other.

Sophies Masterpiece A Spiders Tale by Eileen Spinelli
Walters Wonderful Web by Joe Hopgood
Are you a Spider? by Judy Allen
The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle
Anansi the Spider: A tale from the Ashanti

Spider Web Counting Mat*

This spider mat is a fun way to work on counting skills and number recognition, older children can also practice addition and subtraction. Try using this mat with fake spiders, black pom poms, or play dough!
This mat is included in my Spiders Activity Pack, download this activity as a free sample in my shop.

Free Spider Web 2D Shape Puzzles*

Try this spider shape matching activity for free! Practice matching the 2D shape spider (and shape word) to the 2D shape web!

Spider Ten Frame*

Provide students with plastic spiders or spider rings, along with these mats from the Spiders Activity Pack ​ and have the child place the correct amount of spiders in the ten frame based on the number card.

Spider Counting Sensory Bin

Create a sensory bin of cooked spaghetti noodles, place spiders into the sensory bin and invite the child to use tongs to remove the spiders placing them into an empty ice cube tray, this will work on one to one correspondence. 

Measure with Spiders

Use plastic Spiders to Measure different objects. Estimate how many spiders it will take before measuring.

Spider Egg Sac Patterning and Color Sorting

Have your students create patterns, using color pom pom spider "egg sacs".
Developing students can practice sorting them by color.

Sticky Web

Give children double-sided tape and sticks. Challenge them to create a sticky web and then test what it can hold.

Parts of a Spider and the Spider Life Cycle*

Learn more about the spider life cycle & label spider parts with these activities found in my Spiders Activity Pack ​

Spider Sensory Bin

Scoop spiders from a Spider Themed Sensory Bin, add webs, and crevices for the spiders to hide in.

Spider Oobleck

Add plastic spiders to Oobleck for a fun spider themed sensory activity

Counting Spiders on the Light Table

Member Erica printed these counting mats on vellum to use with the light table! What fun!

Collect a spider web

Check out how Homeschool Life Journal went outside and collected some real spider webs!

Create a Spider Model

After learning about the parts of a spider, invite your students to build their own spider model using play dough, and various materials such as googly eyes, pipe cleaners, straws.

Spider Hunt

Walk around your yard or neighborhood keeping an eye out for spiders and webs. Describe what you find.

Activities to help preschoolers work on their Fine Motor and Gross Motor Development through play

Wiki Stix Web

Have children use wiki stix to make a spider web.
You can give them a pattern to follow or have them create their own.

Spider Shape Clip Cards* - Fine Motor

Shape clip cards are a fun way to practice shape matching while developing fine motor skills, you can find these clip cards in my Spiders Activity Pack ​

Spider Ring Stacking

This is a great activity for building those fine motor skills. You will need black play dough for the base, add a pipe cleaner and provide the children with spider rings. Have them stack the rings onto the pipe cleaner, see how many they can fit.

Spider Web Weaving

Cut slits around a paper plate and invite children to weave with black yarn to create a spider web for fine motor fun!
Extend the fun by adding tweezers and small spiders for kids to move around on the plate. 

Spider Web Cut

Provide preschooler with white straws, have them cut the draws into smaller pieces and glue onto paper to construct their very own spider web. Cutting practice is a great way to work on fine motor skills.

Make Spiders from Dough

Make your own Black Play dough with this recipe and then get to creating spiders!

Members log in to get an exclusive printable of this recipe. 

Giant Web Crawl

Create your own web in the classroom as an obstacle course for preschoolers to climb through. Encourage them to crawl through the web to pretend they are spiders. 

Spider Web Walking Game

Just love this Spider Web Walking Game from No Time for Flashcards

Spider Tag

Play a variation of tag where one child is the spider and tries to catch as many "flies" (other children) as possible. Once a child has been tagged, they are "stuck" in the spider's web and cannot move.

Feed the Spider

Set up a velcro spider web and have children throw black pom pom "flies"
and try to get them stuck in the web so that they spider can eat.

Spider Web Parachute

Add some fun to parachute play by adding plastic spiders instead of balls.

Why Spiders are Important

Most people think spiders are scary and don't think twice about squishing them. Share all of the good that spiders do with your students and make them seem less scary. You can talk about their food chain, pest control, etc.

Spider Emotions

Use play dough and other items to create different emotions by creating the spider's face.
​This mat and related cards are included in our Spiders Activity Pack

Play a Game Together: Spider Color Race Game

Spider Race Rolling Game: For this collaborative spider race rolling game, children take turns rolling to cube to see which colored spider will make it to the top first! ​

Untangle the Web

Have each child take part of a rope or string purposefully making them tangled up. Have the children work together to get the "web" untangled.

Collaborative Spider Drawing- Make Something Together

Have children do collaboration drawings with partners. The first partner draws the body, the second the legs, and so on and so forth until they have created one picture of a spider.

Group Activities, Family Engagement, and other ideas for Educators

Spider Theme Sign-in Activity

​Welcome your students to class with this engaging name recognition activity. 
Includes a variety of themes and available in the shop!

Spider Web Counting Mat Free

$0.00

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Spider Preschool Activity Pack

$7.00

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Spider Web Shape Puzzles Free

$0.00

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Spider Exhibit-Mini Dramtic Play set

$3.00

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Fall Team Building

$7.00

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