Free Printable Spider Counting Book for a Preschool Spider Theme

This printable spider counting book will be perfect for a preschool spider theme. It’s also a wonderful addition to any Halloween activities for preschoolers you have planned.

collage of emergent reader pictures with text that reads free printable spider counting book

Table of Contents

Printable Spider Book for Preschoolers

I’ve done some version of this spider counting book with both preschoolers and kindergartners.

It’s always been well-received. And I love seeing which parts of the book kids respond to the most.

Some really get into writing the numbers. Others are super focused on making fingerprint spiders. Still others are all about adding legs to their spiders.

pages from a printable spider book for preschoolers

What You Need to Make the Spider Counting Book

Blank spider books (grab a copy at the end of this post)

Washable ink pad

Markers

Stapler

How to Make the Counting Emergent Reader

Make the appropriate number of copies of “My Spider Book”.

Grab one set of pages and fold them in half down the middle. Arrange the pages and then staple along the left-hand side.

Here’s a quick video tutorial for assembling the book:

You can also just cut the pages in half and staple them together to make the book. I prefer to fold and staple without cutting, but either way works!

I created a book that went from 1 to 5, but you can add more pages for more numbers.

preschool child pressing her finger on a page of a spider book

How to Use the Counting Spiders Book with Preschoolers

First, write the child’s name on the front cover, or have the child write her own name.

The same goes for the numbers on each page. You can write the numbers or you can have the kids write the numbers.

You could also write the numbers with a yellow marker and have the children trace over the numbers in pencil.

Then it’s time to introduce the spider book, “We’re going to make a book about counting spiders!”

Next, open to the first page and ask what number we start with when counting.

If you haven’t already, write the number 1 on the appropriate space or have the child do so. Explain that a 1 goes from top to bottom.

preschooler drawing spiders on her printable emergent reader

Then read through the words on the first page, “I see 1 spider.”

Lastly, it’s time to illustrate the spider counting book!

Have the child press his finger into a stamp pad, then onto the page. After the body is created with his fingerprint, have the child add eight legs to the “spider” using a marker.

I find that some children give their spiders the correct number of legs. The other half don’t, and that’s just fine.

page from a printable counting spiders book that reads I see 2 spiders

When the illustrations are done, reread the words on the first page. Encourage the children to read with you.

Repeat those steps for the rest of the pages. Ensure that the appropriate number of “spiders” are shown on each page.

child-drawn spiders in a printable spider book with text that reads I see 5 spiders

A Few Tips for the Book

When you’re making the printable spider counting book, keep some baby wipes on hand. This way, the children can remove the ink from their fingers as needed.

Encourage the children to place their spiders where they can see them. The illustrations act as “clues” when a child is learning to read, so the kids need to see the correct number of spiders on each page when they’re rereading.

What Halloween math activities do your children enjoy?

Preschool Spider Lesson Plans

Save time with done-for-you spider lesson plans for preschool. You’ll get a week’s worth of spider-themed activities and lessons all planned out for you.

Take a peek at the plans here:

The spider pack has over 200 pages of daily lesson plans, weekly lesson plans, book suggestions, and related printables.

Free Spider Counting Book Printable

This printable is available for members of Fun-A-Day’s free email community. It’s an updated version of the one shown in the above pictures.

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