Painting doesn’t have to mean using paintbrushes. Introducing different materials and textures to your preschoolers to explore and experiment with during a painting session is a brilliant way to unleash their own individual creativity.
This yarn painting spider web activity is quick and simple to set up and is sure to end with some surprising results. (This can be a great Halloween activity or a fun activity for any spider-related theme.)
Spider Web Painting
This fun process art spider activity isn’t just about painting spider webs with yarn, it’s more about the process. The actual end result of the painting is not important at all. Far too much emphasis can be placed upon creating the perfect piece of artwork. This often leads to frustrations for the preschooler and the adult leading the activity.
Instead preschoolers feel more confident and successful when allowed to freely explore the materials provided and experiment with them as they wish. Letting your preschoolers take the lead in their activity is a very effective way to develop their creativity.
Activity Preparation
Supplies
- Yarn
- Paper plate
- Silver or white paint
- Black paper
I poured silver paint onto a paper plate and cut different lengths of yarn and loaded these onto another paper plate. I set these on the table along with a sheet of black paper and invited my preschooler to explore the yarn and the paint provided.
Spider Process Art
Start by taking a single string of yarn and carefully dipping it into the silver paint before pressing it down onto the black paper.
She soon tired of this and decided to get a little more hands-on with the paint. She laid down the yarn and plunged her fingers into the paint and dotted them all over the black paper.
Painting with Yarn
After doing this for a few minutes, she then went back to the yarn and took a few pieces this time and happily scrunched them around in her hands for a while. She then rolled them up into a ball and soaked them in paint before continuing to add detail to her picture of “her family”.
It is a good idea to talk to and encourage your children to talk about their art work as they are doing it. It might just look like a few splodges of paint to you, but to them there will be a whole lot more going on. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing and hearing their imaginations come to life as they get more and more absorbed in their activity.
Messy Spider Web Art
The session ended on a very messy note indeed. My preschooler adored getting her hands into the paint to give it a good mix and stamp all over the paper.
Try this art exploration. Whether you get web-like pictures or just smears of paint, your preschoolers will enjoy discovering more about paint and expressing their own ideas.
BIO: Nicola is a former Librarian who now spends her time looking after and coming up with arts and crafts ideas for her sons Liam (7), Freddie (5), and Bella (3) to do together. Her blog is Crafty Kids at Home. You can find her on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
More Ideas for a Spider Theme—
Gross Motor Spider Web Activity
Making Patterns with Spiders
Spider Web Activity Tray
Dramatic Play Spider Hunt Activity
