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Making Spider Treats

Read book "The Very Busy Spider"; Learn parts of a spider using food

Month 4 · Activity 17 · Cooking  

Instructions

  • Read the book “The Very Busy Spider” by Eric Carle or Read/Listen here
  • Ingredients to make one big spider - wash hands first
  • Combine 2 tablespoons of smooth nut butter (peanut, almond, etc.) 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar, and 2 tablespoons of graham cracker crumbs
  • Form a ball by using your hands
  • Divide the ball into 2 parts - l larger (abdomen) and 1 smaller (cephalothorax containing the head)
  • Put balls together like a spider body 
  • Add 4 thin licorice legs to each side for a total of 8 legs.  All legs are attached to the smaller ball (cephalothorax) 
  • Add 2 to 8 small raisins for eyes
  • Chat about how animals are put into classes - human beings are in the mammal class and spiders are arachnids 

Simplify

This week see if you can spy a spider up close and see the two parts of a spider and count their 8 legs

Extend

Explain that an animal to be a mammal has three things that can be noticed by a child. First, they must have glands that give milk. This is to feed their babies. Second, they are warm-blooded. Third, all mammals have fur or hair. Humans are mammals.  Can you name some other mammals? (dogs, whales, elephants, and horses).  Is a spider a mammal? (No)  Is a spider an insect? (No) Spiders are members of the Animal Kingdom, belong to the phylum Arthropoda (animals with segmented bodies) class Arachnida.

QUESTIONS FOR CHILD

Are you afraid of spiders? Why are some people frightened by spiders?

If you were a spider and you made a spider web, what would you like to catch on the web?

Is there someone in our family who frightens you? Can you tell me who and what happened that frightened you?

Materials

  • Book “The Very Busy Spider” by Eric Carle or Read/Listen here (use full screen and pause as needed)
  • peanut butter (ALERT - nut allergy; almond, cashew butter...)
  • powdered sugar
  • graham crack crumbs
  • thin licorice
  • raisins
  • bowl

Activity Resources

  • Language Skills
  • Math & Science Skills