Spider Fun!

SUPER SCARY SPIDER FUN !

Eeeeeeeeek !

SPIDERS!

Fields of Daisies Friday Favorites….Spider Fun.
Yep.  I’m doing it.  But it’s a stretch y’all.
For anyone who knows me, it will come as no surprise when I say
spiders are NOT my favorite.
Not on Fridays, not on Mondays, not on any day !!!

Just in case you’re new to Friday Favorites, and wondering what it’s all about…
After finding myself feeling a bit burnt out, with a bad case of the blahs one day, I came up with Friday Favorites.  I announced to my children we were going to celebrate Fridays each week- TGIF!  Junk food for dinner and a movie camp out in the living room!  There may have been some shrieks of delight.
We’d pack up the mini-van and head to the store after school work was done, and everyone was allowed to pick out their FAVORITE frozen junk food dinner.  (GASP!  I know!)  They got chicken nuggets, and I didn’t have to cook.  Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

After the great success of our weekly Friday celebrations, I decided to try the same experiment on our school day.  Each Friday, we picked one fun thing to learn more about together.  Sometimes it was all planned out, and sometimes we scavenged for books and other resources we had around the house.  Either way, it REFRESHED our JOY in learning together.  And to this day, with my children all in their twenties, our Friday Favorites days still come up in conversations.
Sometimes we just need to take a breath and step out of our routines.
MEMORIES are made, and learning still happens.

And so without further delay… here are this week’s Friday Favorites!

*Note: This post contains some links directly to books or other products on Amazon.  If you click on a link and make a purchase, I earn a small commission, at NO EXTRA cost to you!  Thank you 🙂

Why is it all spiders can’t be cute, little, eency weeny spiders that spend their time climbing up a water spout outside?

Or be as sentimental and kind as Charlotte in Charlotte’s Web?
“You have been my friend,” replied Charlotte. “That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what’s a life, anyway? We’re born, we live a little while, we die. A spider’s life can’t help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone’s life can stand a little of that.”

Or as poetic as Dickinson’s spiders?
“A spider sewed at night
Without a light
Upon an arc of white.”

Somehow, when surprised by a spider, I just can’t find it in my heart to agree.
They just aren’t cute, sweet, poetic, or inspirational.
As hard as I try… spiders are just CREEPY CRAWLY!
They are sneaky, hairy, venomous, malevolent… ok.  You get my feelings on the matter.

But alas, much to my chagrin (and confusion),
KIDS SEEM TO LOVE TO LEARN ABOUT SPIDERS!

So…
This Friday’s Favorite is a smorgasbord of my some free spider favs online.

*Spider Q & A- Spider Starters!

–How Many Eyes Do Spiders Really Have?
–Can a Spider Really Eat a Bird?
–What Is The Largest Spider Web Ever Photographed?
–Why Don’t Spiders Not Stick To Their Webs?
–Are Daddy Long Legs The Most Venomous Spider?
(Also you can watch this clip from Myth Busters !)
–Are Spider Webs Really Stronger Than A Bullet Proof Vest?

* Learning About Spiders Videos for Everyone (errr…except me)

– Wild Kratt’s Secrets of the Spider’s Web
(this one is really good…minus all the spiders- YouTube )
– The Magic School Bus Spins a Web     (YouTube)
– NatGeo Super Spider Documentary    (YouTube)
– Spiders from All Things Animal
(Short video all about spiders for younger kids…I like the happy music playing in the background!  YouTube)
– Spider Facts from Mocomag Kids Magazine
(This is my speed-  all animated !!  YouTube )

*All About Spiders- Favs For the Little Guys

– Montessori Inspired Spider Activities & Printables from Living Montessori Now  (PreK-1) 
– ‘The Very Busy Spider’  book study from Starts at Eight
   (‘The Very Busy Spider‘ read aloud on YouTube)
– Spider Unit Study from Teaching Heart
– Spider Coloring Pages

*All About Spiders- Favs For Older Kids
– All About Spiders  (interactive)
– A Hands-On Spider Unit  (from The Homeschool Scientist)
– Spiders from Enchanted Learning
– Mr. Mahoney’s Spiders Page (TONS of links for every age & type of learner!!)
– Spider Unit from The Mommy Writer
– Smithsonian Unit: Under the Spell of …Spiders!
– ‘Arachne the Spinner‘  a Greek Myth and some related printables
– A few free Arachnid Coloring Pages from Dover

*Spider Sweets & Treats to Try !!
–Spider Pizzas
–Cookie Spiders
–Creepy Spider Snacks
–Veggie Spiders
–Spider Bowls !

*Spider Art
–Watercolor Spider Webs
–Easy How To Draw Spider in Web
–Sticks & Yarn Nature Webs
–Capture a Spider Web Artwork

* Spider Books I Love!
(Hunt these books down in your own home, the local library, or click on the link to check them out on Amazon- some of the Kindle versions are super fun!)

– Spinning Spiders
(Just a little note- this series is one of my favorite science resources for the Littles!)

– Spiders!  (NatGeo Kids)
– The Magic School Bus Spins a Web
– The Very Busy Spider   (Young Readers Edition)
– Spiders Secrets!   (DK Readers)
– Dover Coloring Book- Deadly Insects & Arachnids
– Spiders  (Dover Little Book)
– Are You a Spider?
– Spiders and Their Kin