What activities go with the Itsy Bitsy Spider?
Try water play with a tube, a handprint spider, or acting out the story on a low step. All three use things you already have and take about ten minutes.
Water play
Hold a cardboard tube or a piece of plastic pipe over a tub and pour water through it. Add a toy spider and wash it out, then dry it in the “sun” on a windowsill. Stay with your child the whole time around water, and keep small toys away from children who still put things in their mouths.
Two simple crafts
For a handprint spider, paint both hands, tuck in the thumbs and press them down with the palms overlapping. Eight fingers make eight legs. For a web, punch holes around a paper plate and let your child thread yarn back and forth across it.
Move like the story
Use a low step or a cushion as the spout. Climb up on the first line, tumble down gently for the rain, stretch tall for the sun, and climb again. Stay close if you’re using real stairs.
Put the story in order
For older preschoolers and kindergartners, draw the four scenes on separate pieces of paper: the climb, the rain, the sun, the climb again. Mix them up and let your child lay them out while you sing.