kid craft: easy pipe cleaner spiders

My son, Oscar, loves Halloween.  Whether that love stems from his October birthday or the fact that we did like 4 trick or treating sessions last year, I'll never know (I have my suspicions), but he really looks forward to it.  Last week we started decorating the house at his request, and one of the new items we made was a set of easy pipe cleaner spiders.  We stick to the fun and friendly side of Halloween around here.

They couldn't be more simple - the only supply you need is black pipe cleaners.  The project is easy enough for school aged children, and quick enough to keep the attention of observing toddlers.

1.  You'll need 7 pipe cleaners for a large spider.
2.  Twist 2 pipe cleaners together to make one large strand.
3.  Wind the long strand around your finger to create the body.  You want it to look nice and round, but still have a hole through the middle.

4.  Take four more pipe cleaners and twist them together in the center to create the eight spider legs.
5.  Thread the legs through the hole in the body so there are four legs on each side.
6.  Bend the legs on either side, and spread them out a bit.
7.  Twist the end of each leg to create a little foot.

8.  Using your last pipe cleaner, wind it into another ball, leaving a slight tail at the end.  Tuck the tail into the body of the spider towards the front, creating a head.

All done!  We made a little family of spiders to add to our mantle.   Have you started decorating for Halloween?