Simple science activities can help developing preschoolers better understand the world around them. Instead of simply telling preschoolers about arachnids, help children learn hands-on. Place a few spiders in a bug box or clear plastic container. Give children magnifying glasses to look at the arachnids. Ask the children to describe what they see and draw pictures and/or write simple words in science journals to document the experience.
Creating imaginative spider art will inspire preschoolers to learn about the shape and appearance of arachnids. Young children can make their own spider shaped prints using finger paints and their own hands. Help the child paint his hands a dark color. Ask him to spread his fingers out, keeping the thumbs up, and press the painted parts onto paper to create the eight legged spider. Children can make a three-dimensional spider using modeling clay, play dough or by gluing pipe cleaners to a paper cup painted black.
A simple way to get preschoolers interested in spiders is to teach them a new song or fingerplay. Try a classic such as "Little Miss Muffet" or "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" as a rhyme that you can accompany with finger and hand movements. If you are looking for a more imaginative spider song, create your own by replacing words of a children's music standard with arachnid themed lyrics. Don't have the time to write your own song? Many preschool and teachers' websites such as preschooleducation.com feature educator created songs, chants, fingerplays and rhymes you can choose from.
Preschoolers can complete age appropriate worksheets on spider and bug topics. There are many freely available printables you can find online at education sites such as KidZone, First-School or Enchanted Learning. Spider themed worksheets include coloring pages, labeled body part diagrams, math counting pages and fact sheets. If you cannot find the right worksheet for your needs, try creating one using a basic word processing program to include letters and numbers or copy a photo of a spider from a non-fiction book to make a realistic labeling activity.