Simple DIY Spider Classroom Decor

I realize I'm a bit late on this but I've been very excited for the autumn season. As of late, we've had a new guest.. err.. uhh... hangin' out in the hall outside of our classroom.

Meet our new spidey friend!

Now, I'm unable to take credit for the idea (that was all my co-worker) but we fixed this guy up in (almost) no time! We've had a huge response with many compliments since he's taken residence above the door and I'm happy to say he was relatively easy to make. Read on to learn more!

One of my favorite parts about his decor is that we were able to use the items we had on hand. [Did you notice my "Where are we?" sign posted outside the classroom? Grab that resource here in my TpT store!]

Materials:

• Large black paper
• White construction paper
• Stapler or Glue (depending on patience/time/etc.)
• Writing Utensil
• Scissors

Instructions:

1. Measure out two long sheets of large black paper. This will be the spider's body and legs.
2. Sketch a big circle for his body. Place the two pieces of black paper back-to-back and cut the circle.
3. Staple around 2/3 of the circle (approximately 1" away from the edge). This creates a pocket that can be stuffed with paper or other filling.
4. "Open" the pocket and fill. We "crumbled" our used scraps from the project as well as other soon-to-be-recycled paper. Newspaper or fiber fill would be an excellent resource, too, depending on what is around.
5. Once filled to desired amount, finish stapling the edges of the circle.
6. Measure out an additional long sheet of large black paper (the size of this will determine the length of the legs). Cut into 8 wide strips (ours were approximately 4-5") and twist.
7. Staple the legs onto the sides of the spider.
8. Add a face using white or other colored construction paper. We simply traced two large circles and two small for his eyes, as well as a "crescent-type" shape for his mouth.

So here's the inevitable question... "How did you get him up there?" And, even more so, "Does he ever fall down?" My response is quick and concise. He is fasted to the ceiling with the resource we had on hand: tape. A lot of tape. Does he ever fall down? Well, no, but sometimes he gets sleepy and this happens:

Giving more thought to this (especially after taking into consideration that the kiddos... no... the WHOLE SCHOOL loves him), my game plan for the weekend is to find additional supports for hanging our new friend. Any suggestions?



Happy Teaching!
Kortnie C.