Free Preschool Crafts

Great for Halloween or a spider unit in school, these spiders are quick and fun to make. If you want, you can twist one of the pipe cleaner legs to make the spider “hold” a name to identify a child’s desk or as a placecard at a Halloween party.

What You Need: 1 “cup” section from egg carton; black tempera paint; 2 black pipe cleaners; 2 googly eyes; paintbrush; glue; 1/8″ hole punch or poking tool.
How You Make It: Adults should precut egg carton and pipe cleaners and poke the leg holes for littler kids. Paint egg carton section black and let dry. Poke or punch four holes on each of two sides of the egg carton cup. Cut each pipe cleaner in half, poke in one hole and out the opposite side and bend into leg shapes. Use glue to add googly eyes.

These are fun for a whole class to make. You can hang the ghosts from the ceiling, or just let the preschoolers run around with the ghosts “flying” behind them. At home, hang them around your porch.

What You Need: two plastic grocery bags; white or clear lid (such as from whipped topping or oatmeal container); two white pipe cleaners; scissors; black construction paper; glue; stapler; cellophane tape; hole punch; yarn.

How You Make It: Cut off the bag handles as well as any writing or logos on each bag. Cut 1- to 2-inch strips from the top of bag to about 1 inch from the bottom of the bag. (Do this with both bags). Fold white pipe cleaner into seam of one bag and secure with staples. Do the same with the other bag. Now, bend each pipe cleaner/bag into a semi-circle and insert into inside rim of lid and secure with tape. Do the same with the other pipe cleaner/bag. (They will overlap a bit.) Glue on construction paper ovals for ghost eyes. Punch hole in lid and hang from yarn. Spooky!

Safety Alert: Plastic bags are a suffocation hazard. Please observe children closely when making this craft.