Miss Spider is lonely.  She can not understand why none of the insects want to come to her tea party?  Count the insects as they meet Miss Spider.

Materials

• Pitcher and about 4-6 decaffeinated fruit tea bags.
• Crepe paper
• A spider hung from a string ( this can be stuffed, rubber, or paper)
• Camera

Vocabulary

• To dash off (to run off quickly)
• Tea party ( a party where you drink tea and eat sweets)

Before Reading the Story

            Hang a large piece of paper where all the children can see it.  Ask the children to see if they can guess what you are drawing.  Draw a simple spider on the paper.  When the children have guessed spider, have them count the eight legs with you.  Tell the children that it has to have 8 legs to be a spider. Now draw another spider but only put on 5 legs.  Ask the children if this is a spider?  (No because it only has 5 legs)  Add 3 more.  Do this several times making another spider with 8 legs and two more with more or less legs.  How many legs does a spider have to have?  Tell the children that our story today is about a spider.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to make one-to-one correspondence in counting objects and matching groups of objects. AND Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, materials, living things, and natural processes.

Reading the Story

            Make sure to take time to let the children help count the insects on each page.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to make one-to-one correspondence in counting objects and matching groups of objects.

On the children the page where Miss Spider is wiping her tears (Miss Spider sobbed, “They’ve all dashed off”).  Ask them why they think all the insects dashed off? (Because spiders eat insects). 

Social & Emotional Development/Social Relationships; progresses in responding sympathetically to peers who are in need, upset, hurt, or angry; and in expressing empathy to others.

After Reading the Story

            Hold up the cover of the book and ask the children did Miss Spider want to eat the insects? (No, she wanted to have a party/tea with them).   Ask have the children ever been to a party?  What kinds of things do you do at a party?    How do you feel when you get to go to a party? (happy, it’s fun, I like to go). 

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; demonstrates progress in abilities to retell and dictate stories from books and experiences; to act out stories in dramatic play; and to predict what will happen next in a story. AND Language Development/Speaking & Communicating; develops increasing abilities to understand and use language to communicate information, experiences, ideas, feelings, opinions, needs, questions; and for other varied purposes.

Discovery

            Make sun tea.  Bring in a pitcher and several bags of decaffeinated fruit tea.  Put the tea bags in a full pitcher of water and place in the sun.  Observe it throughout the day as the tea gets darker.  Chill before drinking.  Serve with cookies for afternoon snack.

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; develops increased ability to observe and discuss common properties, differences, and comparisons among objects and materials.

            If you know of any spider web around your school, let the children observe it.  Remind them though to not touch spiders as many bite!

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; develops increased ability to observe and discuss common properties, differences, and comparisons among objects and materials.

Music and Movement

            Put a pillow out in the center of the circle.  Have a child sit on the pillow and recite the poem, Little Miss Muffit.  Let the children take turns being Miss Muffit or Mr Muffit.  When you get to the part about along came a spider that sat down beside, change to include in front of, behind, and on top of. (dangle a spider prop from a string)

Little Miss/Mr Muffit

Sat on his tuffit/pillow

Eating her/his cottage cheese.

Along came a spider

And sat down (beside) her/him

And frightened Miss/Mr Muffit away.

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; demonstrates increasing ability to attend to and understand conversations, stories, songs, and poems. AND Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; builds an increasing understanding of directionality, order, and positions of objects, and words such as up, down, over, under, top, bottom, inside, outside, in front and behind.

Blocks

            Ask the children how many legs does a spider have? (8)  Show me something you can build with 8 blocks.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to make one-to-one correspondence in counting objects and matching groups of objects.

Art

            Make spiders out of play dough or clay.  Have the children roll balls out of play dough.  Put out pipe cleaners that have been cut into 1 inch and 2 inch lengths.  Let the children insert the legs into their spiders and put to the side to dry.  When the dough is dry the children can paint their spiders.

Creative Arts/Art; progresses in abilities to create, drawings, paintings, models, and other creations that are more detailed, creative, or realistic.

Library and Writing

            Remind the children why Miss Spider was sad in the story (no one would come to her party because they were afraid she would eat them).   Ask what did Miss Spider really want to do?  (Have them come for a tea party).  Ask the children what kinds of things they like to do with their friends?  If you have a camera available, you could take pictures of each child doing things they like with their school friends and make it into a class book. If you do not have a camera, encourage the chhildren to draw their friends.

Social & Emotional Development/Social Relationships; shows progress in developing relationships with peers.

Sand and Water

            Bring in grass cuttings from the playground or home.  Also add several sticks, stumps, and rocks.  Add plastic insects to the table.  Let the children arrange an insect habitat.

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to use senses and a variety of tools and simple measuring devices to gather information, investigate materials, and observe processes and relationships. AND Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; participates in a variety of dramatic play activities that become more extended and complex.

Dramatic Play

            Hang some crepe paper and encourage the children to have a party.

Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; participates in a variety of dramatic play activities that become more extended and complex.

Math and Manipulatives

            Give each child a piece of paper.  Ask them to fold the paper in half.  On one side help them write Spider and on the other help them write Insect.  Remind the children that main character in the story was a spider.  How many legs does a spider have? (8).  Have the children draw a spider on the side of the paper that says spider.  Ask them if they know the scientific name for all the other bugs in the story (insects).  Tell the children that all insects have 6 legs.  Have the children draw an insect on the side of the page that says insect.  Encourage the children to write the numbers 8 and 6 on the corresponding sides of the page.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to make one-to-one correspondence in counting objects and matching groups of objects. AND Literacy/Early Writing; begins to represent stories and experiences through pictures, dictation, and in play.

Outdoor Play

            Bring some crepe paper outside and give the children 3 foot sections and show them how to weave it in and out through the fence.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; grows in hand-eye coordination in building with blocks, putting together puzzles, reproducing shapes and patterns, stringing beads, and using scissors.

Transitions

            Ask the children how many legs a spider has?  See if you can get to your next destination in 8 steps.  If not keep counting until you get there.  Ask the next child how many legs an insect has?  Have them count their steps.  Then have all the children count their steps to the next place they are going.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; develops increasing ability to count to 10 and beyond.

Resources