Spider Writing Tray

Each week, Adam has handwriting homework from school. Although he enjoys mark making, Adam is reluctant to pick up a pencil at home. When he was completing his recent homework I could tell he was on the verge of a meltdown. Rather than perusing the task, I decided to quickly change the focus. I remembered we had a left over Paper Plate Spider from our Simple Halloween Crafts. Adam hadn’t placed googly eyes on this particular spider so it was ideal to use as a Spider Writing Tray.

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Equipment needed to make a Spider Writing Tray

* Black Paper Plate

* Eight Black Plastic Straws

* Sellotape

* Round Wooden Lollipop Stick

* Black plastic spider (similar to this)

* Table Salt

* Googly Eyes

* A set of Flashcards – we used the ABC and 123 Flashcards from our Miles Kelly set.

1. Turn the black paper plate over. Use sellotape to attach the eight black straws. More detailed instructions can be found on our Simple Halloween Crafts post.

2. Pour table salt into the middle of the black paper plate.

3. Attach a black plastic spider to the round wooden lollipop stick. Our spider had a hole underneath which the stick could slot into. This will create a spider pencil.

How to use the Spider Writing Tray:

Place a googly eye on the alphabet flashcard where the letter formation should start. Then place another googly eye on top of the salt in the Spider Writing Tray. Get your little one to use the spider pencil to form the letter in the salt.

Once the letter is complete gently shake the paper plate spider and the letter will disappear. Repeat the process with a variety of different letters and numbers.

Adam couldn’t get enough of the activity. He went through his entire pack of Miles Kelly ABC flashcards and then requested to use the 123 Flashcard set too. Ironically for his homework he only had to write two letters and two numbers yet Adam chose to do all 26 letters and 20 numbers within the salt tray. He then asked if he could complete his pencil written homework.

Our Spider Writing Tray remained out for the rest of the week and was used frequently. I love it when Adam doesn’t realise he is learning through his play activities.