Spider Counting Activity for Preschoolers

Spiders in the classroom sometimes send teachers and students scampering for safety! With this engaging spider counting activity, however, even the most fearful arachnophobe will enjoy themselves.

Spiders are often seen as creepy, spooky, or weird. Shed a little light on how unique they are by adding a spider counting activity at the light table. Perfect for Halloween, or during a unit on insects, spider counting at the light table includes so many benefits! Fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and cooperation are just a few.

Materials Needed

Setting up this counting center is simple. Gather these supplies:

• Plastic spiders (like these ones here)
• Spider webs (drawn on transparency paper or printed on regular paper)
• Tongs
• Bowl (to contain the spiders)

Gather the spiders in a bowl with the counting mats spaced out around the table. Webs can be drawn on transparency paper with a permanent marker and used at a light table, or these free webs can be downloaded and printed for use at the light table or a regular table. Pass the tongs out and watch the fine motor fun begin! Of course, tongs aren’t a must as fingers do the job just as well, but the extra fine motor skill practice is invaluable. Watch the students skitter on over to the table for all the fun!

Variations:

• Use multi-colored spiders and turn this into a count-and-sort activity.
• Use different sizes of spiders for a patterning activity too!
• Print out and laminate the webs, then add the webs and spiders to the sensory bin.

Looking for More Spider Counting fun?

Find spider number recognition fun in the Halloween Math and Literacy Centers!

Try the Itsy Bitsy Spider Nursery Rhyme Mini-Unit with spider photographs, a carpet game, a folder game, and more!

And there’s Unit 4 Science Centers with section #7 on spiders. Find book ideas and more with this engaging unit.