Creepy crawlies

My second grade students are doing a unit on bugs at the moment. Yesterday was spider day. The boys were thrilled to hear that spiders have fangs (just like vampires). Everyone's favorite bit of information was that spiders have a spinnaret on their rear ends that silk comes out of... I'm seeing a new spider dance: shake your spinnaret!

I searched online for bug crafts and found a lovely one for praying mantises. After printing the template, I tried making one myself and found that the activity was much too difficult for my young ones. The kids came in yesterday and saw the sample praying mantis perched on my desk. They all fell in love with it and asked to take it home. I told them that the person who was the most well-behaved student that day could take it with them. After hearing that news, all of my students metamorphosed into little angels. I realized that I would need more than one praying mantis and spent the afternoon glueing leg and wing parts together. A bevy of bugs awaits Monday's lesson!