Let’s Craft! Silly Spiderwebs!
Activity Time: 15min
Supplies: Colored Popsicle Sticks, String, Glue
Parent Engagement level: Medium
Kicking off a holiday season early is half of the excitement of that actual holiday, at least that’s what I believe. We start Halloween crafting EARLY, and let’s face it - craft and home decor stores are already driving the bandwagon, we’re just jumping on. When it comes to seasonal crafts, we don’t always need to create things that are going to come out of that dusty storage box year after year. Sometimes, it’s just about the thrill of the moment and the time spent one-on-one with your kiddos, seeing how their skills and imagination have progressed since last year.
This craft only takes about 15 minutes in total (including glue drying time) and is a great way to engage with your children and then let them have some freedom to just be creative. We can utilize this activity to practice visual, audible and tactical learning skills while demonstrating fine motor techniques, sequence and listening skills. And here’s a parent hack for you - if you want to display your little ones artwork around the house but like me, you prefer a ‘neutral’ palette, go ahead and select classic black and white tools, or even better - work with your living room color scheme. Kids will love this activity either way.
How to Play:
If you know me at all, you know my number one rule for activities with my children is the actual activity MUST take longer than the set-up, which is why this one is a huge win in my books. Grab your supplies, pick an area that’s easily washable and you’re good to go!
Assemble your supplies. If you have a craft storage bin or cupboard in your house, get your little helpers to assist you in collecting and carrying to the activity center. Small everyday tasks create confidence and independence. You can even boost imagination by asking if there’s anything else that your child imagines might be on their spiderwebs. Pipecleaner spiders or insects have as much right to find their place at home with this activity as flower and fruit-shaped stickers and gems. Let your little ones lead the way and encourage them to think outside of the box.
You can either lead step-by-step, or show your kiddo the full process start-to-finish first. Every child will engage differently and follow in their own way. What’s important is that you acknowledge and recognize how they’re learning and not just what they’re learning. Clueing in to their observation, attention and engagement skills will give you the power to respect and reflect that when it comes to bigger activities with more steps. Still unsure what your child responds best to? Ask for their acknowledgement. Try having them repeat the steps as they go, and then see if they can remember the sequence on their own.
Use sensory skills to engage as you go and add depth of learning and development to the activity. “Which one is soft, the popsicle stick or the pipecleaner?” “How many yellow popsicle sticks do you see?” Counting, colors and textures are great way to create strong understanding in real time.
Although this activity has minimal set-up and clean-up and is age appropriate for the littlest learners (we’re limiting small pieces in this one!) make sure you’re still using non-toxic crafting items and being aware of any small tools you add into the mix with young kiddos, especially under the age of 3.
Steps:
Choose three popsicle sticks. Let your little ones decide if they would like to use three of the same color, or three different colors. Anything goes!
Using a dot of glue in the center of one, layer two popsicle sticks together in a long ‘X’ shape.
Use another dot of glue where the ‘X’ crosses, layer the third popsicle stick along it’s center. Let your base dry for 5 min.
Glue (or tie!) one end of your string to one end of a popsicle stick. Give this step a few minutes to dry (yep, we’re practicing wearing our patient pants today!)
Get creative with winding your webs! Wrap the string around the ends of the popsicle sticks until you’ve created something completely unique! Follow up by adding on any ‘extras’ you can dream of!
Did you enjoy this craft? Watch the full-video here!
