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Helping adults prepare children for kindergarten and life.

Finger Play  "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" (Fine motor)

Practicing finger dexterity with hand motions

Month 4 · Activity 21 · Physical Activity  

Instructions

  • Practice touching fingertips together; thumb to thumb, index finger to little finger, pointer to ring finger, little finger to thumb, etc. 

  • Share motions for fingerplay: place thumb of one hand to little finger of other hand to show "climbing"

  • Flutter fingers and bring down to show "rain"

  • Make a circle with arms above head to show "sun"

  • Lift both arms up from knee to chest to show "dry up all the rain"

  • Learn fingerplay “Itsy Bitsy Spider” (or Eency Weency) with the motions

 

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

The itsy bitsy spider

Climbed up the waterspout.

Down came the rain

And washed the spider out.

Out came the sun

And dried up all the rain.

And the itsy bitsy spider

Climbed up the spout again.

Simplify

Variations are fun - try The Great Big Hairy Spider instead of Itsy Bitsy and make a BIG spider with arms outstretched climbing the water spout with a BIG voice. Or try the Very Fast Spider and sing fast or the Very Slow Spider and sing slowly.

Extend

Find a picture of a spider or download photo here. Share that a spider is not an insect but is an arachnid.  They often spin webs to catch bugs to eat. Spiders have short hairs on their feet that help them to climb. Find a real spider outside to observe.

There are more verses to learn too:

The itsy bitsy spider 
Climbed up the kitchen wall 
Swoosh! went the fan  
And made the spider fall 
Off went the fan 
No longer did it blow 
So the itsy bitsy spider 
Back up the wall did go 

The itsy bitsy spider 
Climbed up the yellow pail 
In came a mouse 
And flicked her with his tail 
Down fell the spider 
The mouse ran out the door 
Then the itsy bitsy spider 
Climbed up the pail once more 

The itsy bitsy spider 
Climbed up the rocking chair 
Up jumped a cat 
And knocked her in the air 
Down plopped the cat 
And when he was asleep 
The itsy bitsy spider 
Back up the chair did creep 

The itsy bitsy spider 
Climbed up the maple tree 
She slipped on some dew 
And landed next to me 
Out came the sun 
And when the tree was dry 
The itsy bitsy spider 
Gave it one more try 

The itsy bitsy spider 
Climbed up without a stop 
She spun a silky web 
Right at the very top 
She wove and she spun 
And when her web was done 
The itsy bitsy spider 
Rested in the sun

QUESTIONS FOR CHILD

Can you share a poem, fingerplay, or joke with me?

Would you rather have a book read to you or watch a movie and why?

Video Demo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9ey2k0Zis8

Materials

  • Social Skills
  • On the Go Activity