Furry Spider

Here is quick and simple idea that is ideal as an extension activity on a busy day or for an after school club.

Brief Description: This is a great little extension activity and if the whole class make one of these, this can create a stunning wall display. Children will use pipecleaners and pom poms to create this furry looking friend.

Keywords: Halloween (and words relating to) , Spider, twist, furry, texture

Materials Needed: Pipecleaners, fur or pom poms, PVA glue, google eyes other collage materials

Instructions:

1. Decide what colour your spider is going to be. I have chosen grey and collected four pipecleaners and a scrap of faux fur. Alternatively you could use a pom pom.

Make sure you have everything you need prior to starting

 2. Using three of the pipecleaners, roll the pipecleaners in the fabric. Add a dab of pva glue at the end. If you are using a pom pom skip to the next step.

Add a dab of glue on the faux fur and role the pipecleaners up

 3. Using the remaining pipecleaner, wrap this around the centre of the fur bundle and twist close to the fabric. This will secure the pieces together. You can then fluff the fun to cover the join. If you are using a pom pom, lay three of the pipecleaners on the pom pom and use the fourth one to wrap around as above.

Wrap the pipecleaners around the faux fur or pom pom

 4. Bend the legs into the position required.

  

Legs all bent into position so the spider will stand

   5. Finally glue the eyes into positions and your spider is complete

I have chosen to add 4 eyes on my spider why not look up on line how many eyes a spider has?

The completed spider

 Differentiation:

Key stage 1: An alternative method of making the spider could be to twist the four pipecleaners together roughly in the centre. The children can then move the legs to the required positions. Try to encourage them to create shapes with the legs like a reverse letter “r” or a “L”. Children can glue either a piece of fur, pom pom or some wool on the top for the body part and finish with google eyes.

Keystage 2: Children can experiment more with pipecleaners by twisting two different colours together for the legs. This will make the spider more colourful and dynamic however this will make to joining of the pom pom slightly more difficult due to the added thickness of the pipecleaners. Children could try adding a pom pom or piece of fur on the end of each leg for a foot.

Gifted and Talented: Children can be asked to consider other materials that they can use or add to their spider, such as sequins, feathers, wool etc. Encourage the children to think very carefully about how these materials will enhance the spider rather than adding materials which could make the spider look busy.