Scary Spider or Christmas Cutie
Traditional Halloween scary creature or charming and sparkly Christmas surprise – with a bit of imagination your spider could trigger any emotions. It’s an easy bit of craft for parents to teach, fun for children to create and a great present to terrify or delight grandparents and other relatives.
Olga Gerke, from Manchester Museum, with her background in fine arts, doesn’t like her hands to get dirty. “I’m not the best person to deal with sticky glue or blunt scissors,” she says. “Also I’m a strong believer in saving pennies and looking after the environment, so our materials are usually recycled or inexpensive. Last but not least, when working with children I like ‘crafties’ to be easy to make but still exciting. The simplest one is Spider. Just follow the instructions below”
You need
4 pipe cleaners
a pompom (optional)
a thread
Let the child choose the colour and size of your future spider, line up the pipe cleaners according to the picture
twist them in the middle
and then bend each leg individually
After that use the smaller piece of pipe cleaner to insert in middle section and twist once on each side
Now you can choose a pompom for the body and wrap the thread around your spider’s front legs and body
Olga continues, “Now you have your spider, and you can surprise your child with the question – what does it eat? As an avid pet keeper I always encourage children to think about their creature as their pet. Consistently using three simple questions – “What does it eat? Where does it live? Does it need friends?” we can train children to become more responsible pet keepers. So I usually give a child a lunch box with a paper fly inside – “for your new friend to munch on the road”. Children are happy and go away with a spider on a thread, inventing little games while they go.”
