Halloween Craft - Spider Web!

This past Monday, a holiday for me, I planned on taking my grandchildren to the Pumpkin Patch. But it was raining. So we did Halloween crafts at home instead!

I have a background as a preshool teacher and had three children of my own. So I've done lots of crafts through the years and I love holiday crafts in particular, but all of that was before Pinterest! I just had to check out the latest craft ideas!

I was limited to whatever was in the house since it was so last minute. But what I have in the house and what is normal to have in the house are extremes. It wasn't difficult to rummage through my craft room and find black paper plates, construction paper and glue. By the time the children showed up, I had 3 crafts planned.

My favorite one, the paper plate spider web, is the one I will describe here. It gives children a tactile experience, works their small motor skills and looks great once it's finished.

You'll need:

Black paper plates (white can be substituted but you'll have to reverse the color of the yarn.)
White yarn
Green, orange or another color construction paper for the spider.
Glue stick
Scissors

Directions:

1. Take the black paper plate and begin making slits around the edge of the plate. Slits should be @1/2 to 3/4" deep. Leave @ 3/4" between slits. This is a great exercise for children who are learning to use scissors. You could also pre-cut the slits, which I did for my 2 and 3 year old grandkids.

Cut all the way around the paper plate.

2. Tape one end of the white yarn to the back of the plate.

3. Begin by pulling the yarn through one of the slits. At this point I gave the end of the yard to my grandson and directed him to pull it through any slit. We went back and forth around the plate while he chose the placement of each slit and pulled the yarn through. You want it to be uneven and random.

4. When my grandson had decided there was enough "web" we pulled the yarn through the back and I taped the end down.

5. Cut out an oval shape for the spider's body.

6. Cut out 8 small for spider's legs.

7. Have your child glue the legs to the body.

8. I bent the legs in half to make them 3 dimensional.

9. Glue the spider somewhere on the web.

10. Hang it up in a prominent place in your home! Your child will enjoy looking at the spider and web that he/she created!

Let me know how yours turns out!
Angela

Labels: craft ideas; Halloween Crafts; preschool crafts; spider web; paper plate crafts; Angela's Artistic; toddler crafts; spiders