A Guest Post
Spiders. Right now it is the season for spiders! I’m not a huge spider fan but can tolerate them from a distance. This past week we had a couple unplanned opportunities to study spiders. I capitalized on that and we went on a little bunny er spider trail this week!
Spider Spinning a Web
This first spider lives right above our dumpster. It’s a pretty big spider which kind of freaks me out. My son and I happened to be outside one afternoon while it was building its web. It was fascinating to see the thin silk come out of the spinneretes. We’ve gone out several days in a row and watched this spider work. We even saw it wrap up a fly!
Observing this spider over the past week allowed me to introduce spider vocabulary words and facts:
- spinneretes
- fangs
- arachnid
- cephalothorax
- abdomen
- pedipalps
- exoskeleton
- spiders have 8 legs
- spiders are not insects
- spiders have 2 body parts –the cephalothorax and abdomen
- most spiders have 8 eyes
Spider Web I Spy
On our last nature walk we played Spider Web I spy. We counted how many spider webs we could find on our walk. Did you know that abandoned spider webs are called cobwebs?
Spider Activities
Here are a couple spider activities we have done in the past or that I hope to add to our spider learning.
Read more at Learning About Spiders – Spell Out Loud.
