Materials
The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle
Fence
Large ball of white string or yarn
Scissors
Key ring
Black construction paper, optional
Instructions
1. Set up chairs in typical "Musical Chairs" fashion, either in a long row with
chairs facing forward and backward, or in a circle with chairs facing outward.
2. Place pictures on the floor, face down, underneath the chairs, or tape them to
the bottom of the chairs.
3. Begin playing musical chairs as usual the children walk around the chairs
until the music stops, and then quickly sit down in a chair.
4. Once all the children are sitting, each child picks up the picture under her
chair and identifies the picture when called upon.
5. After each child has identified her picture, continue playing. You may choose
to put new pictures under the chairs, or if the pictures were taped, switch the
chairs around so that children do not know which picture will be under her
chair next. With some groups, you may be able to encourage the children to
choose a new chair each time.
6. Instead of putting whole pictures under the chairs, put two halves of a picture
underneath two different chairs. After the children find their pictures, they
have to match it to a half that someone else is holding. (For example, zoo
animals can be cut in half, so one child finds the head and another child finds
the tail.)
More to do
The same pictures can be used throughout the day or week, during different
activities. For example, ask the children to find a picture at group time and
identify it, tape the pictures to the backs of chairs at snack time, and so on.
