Miss Spider Books Author David Kirk Downloadable Coloring Sheets

Planning Your Party Invitations and Announcements Decoration and Refreshments Let the Party Begin Activity Ideas Planning Your Party The first step is to schedule the date and to decide how long Miss Spider's Birthday Party will be. Since young children may have short attention spans and tire easily, we suggest 30 to 45 minutes. The more adult helpers you have on hand, the better. Invitations and Announcements Reproduce the downloadable invitation below. Fold each sheet into quarters so Miss Spider appears on the front. Hand out invitations to your family and friends, or send them as self-mailers. You can also use the downloadable announcement below in addition to or instead of the invitation. Announcements Invitations Decorations and Refreshements Adorn your party area with spidery things: rubber spiders hanging from strings and spider webs made from cotton wadding. Create a Miss Spider's "web site"! Place five or six chairs in a circle with the seats facing outward. They can be as far apart as you would like depending on how much spider spinning you want to do (be sure to place some heavy books on the seats for ballast). With white yarn, begin tying as many cross-pieces as you would like between the top spindles or backs of the chairs. Try to cross as many in the middle as possible. Then tie several long strands at equal intervals to one of the cross-pieces. These will be the strands you will weave around the web until you are back where you started. There you will tie them again and cut off any excess. Finally, tie one long strand around the outside circumference of the circle of chairs -- this will be the outer edge of the web. Serve apple juice and call it Miss Spider's tea and/or Miss Spider Juice in a punch bowl (a sweet nectar should do just fine). Serve cookies and a cake that says "Happy Birthday, Miss Spider!" Offer Gummi bugs. Let the Party Begin... Have cameras and video camera ready! Encourage parents to stay for the party. Set up a table for parents, and offer them coffee, tea, and cookies. Give each child a Name Tag. Use the downloadable below and have tape ready (avoid pins with small children). Set up activity "stations." This planner includes suggested activities for your party. For a larger crowd of children, we suggest running several activities in different "stations" or areas. Have small groups of children rotate among the stations. At least one adult "helper" should staff each station. Name Tags Miss Spider's Birthday Party Ideas Miss Spider Read Aloud: Read Miss Spider's ABC. Ice-Breaker: Sit everyone in a circle. Ask kids to introduce themselves and name their favorite or least favorite bug, and explain why. This could be a good opportunity for some giggles. Pass out Name Tags (see "Let the Party Begin" for download). Make Pipe Cleaner Spiders: Have children draw faces and color a Styrofoam ball with markers. Then push pipe cleaners in as legs. Coloring Corner: Copy and pass out crayons and the Downloadable Miss Spider coloring sheet below. Guess How Many Bugs: Fill a jar, pitcher, or bowl with rubber bugs (or candy gummi bugs). Whoever makes the closest guess wins a prize. Sing-Along: Young children love movement songs. Here are two favorites that fit in with the Miss Spider theme. In addition, you could sing the alphabet song. And make sure to sing Happy Birthday to Miss Spider before you serve the cake! I'm a Little Teapot" I'm a little teapot, short and stout; Here is my handle, and here is my spout. When I get all steamed up, then I shout; Tip me over and pour me out! "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" The itsy, bitsy spider went up the water spout. Down came the rain and washed the spider out. Out came the sun and dried up all the rain, And the itsy, bitsy spider went up the spout again. Take Home: Hand out copies of the Downloadable Miss Spider and Holley's Word Search below for kids to take home. Coloring Sheet Word Search Wrap Up Now is a good time for a door prize drawing, such as a copy of Miss Spider's ABC. Choose several second prize winners and give them a spider themed gift, such as a small toy. Hand out the Miss Spider stickers for kids to take home. We hope your Miss Spider's Birthday Party is a success. If you have any questions, feel free to call us. We'd love to hear about your party! We hope your Miss Spider's Birthday Party is a success!