Spider Playdough Activities: Make an Invitation to Play

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Are you looking for sensory play ideas for the fall? Why not try out this spider-themed activity?

I don’t like real spiders…particularly the kind that I have encountered since moving to Texas (everything is bigger here!). But, I can totally handle cute playdough spiders and had so much fun pulling together supplies to create some spider playdough activities for kids.

spider playdough activities - A purple plastic divided tray is shown with black playdough in the middle. The other sections are filled with toy spiders, googly eyes, tooth picks, and more.

Below you will find a bunch of material ideas for a spider-themed or Halloween invitation to play. Plus, I included some tips and tricks to help you make black playdough.

These spider playdough activities are perfect for October classroom themes to go along with the Itsy Bitsy Spider nursery rhyme or as a fun activity for a Halloween party.

You can use the playdough tray ideas below to create individual playdough kits for your kids. would make a perfect boo gift or for young kids

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Black Playdough

You don’t have to use black playdough when creating your spider play dough invitation tray, but I think it’s a great way to add to the creepiness of the season. It’s especially fun for Halloween time. I made my own play dough with my quick playdough recipe. Here are the directions if you want to make homemade play dough:

Ingredients

3 cups of flour
¾ cup salt
5 tbsp cream of tartar
3 cups water
3 tbsp vegetable oil
black gel food coloring (see tips and tricks)
anise extract (optional)

Directions

Mix the first three dry ingredients together with the water, oil, and food coloring in a large pot. Stir and heat over medium heat. The mixture will look like a globby mess. When it starts to form a ball in the center of the pot, remove it from heat. Place the mixture on a lightly floured surface or cookie sheet* and knead until the mixture changes from a sticky texture to a smooth texture. **The black food coloring could discolor some surfaces, so you may not want to knead this color of playdough on your countertops.

After the playdough has cooled, store in an airtight container or plastic bag.

Tips and Tricks for Making Your Own Spider Playdough

Tips and tricks: Be sure to add the food coloring along with the liquid ingredients. One time, I made the mistake of trying to knead the food coloring into the playdough. It was a lot more work to add it at the end. You may have to play around with the black food coloring. If you don’t add enough it will look sludge-colored (which is not all bad for spider playdough). If you add too much, it will make your hands a little purple when you play with it. I’m typing with purple palms at the moment 😊.

*Be aware that the dark coloring could transfer onto your classroom tables. That also happened to me once…but it came off in a few days. Playing with the playdough on plastic trays or cookie sheets will prevent the problem. It’s fun to use anise extract if you have some on hand. The playdough will smell like black licorice.

Make Black Glitter Play Dough

The playdough is ready for creating as it is, but you or your kids can add some mix-ins to increase the wow factor. Give your kids a little bit of glitter in a salt shaker and let them knead it into the play dough. Black glitter adds a really nice sparkle.

Black glitter is being mixed into black homemade playdough to create glitter playdough for a spider playdough tray.

While digging through my supply closet, I found a container of fake snowflakes. We experimented with adding some to the black playdough. It created a really interesting look and texture that could be very cool for creepy spider play dough.

white, sparkly fake snow is being mixed into homemade black playdough for a sensory activity and spider activities for preschoolers.

Fill Your Playdough Tray for Spider Playdough Activities

Okay, now that you have your black spider play dough, you can get to the REALLY fun part. My favorite thing about playdough trays is finding creative things to add to the sections of a divided tray.

Look through your craft supplies, office supplies, party supplies, etc for materials to create your spider-themed invitation to play. This playdough tray will be the perfect tool to help your kids work on fine motor skills like building hand strength and their pincer grasp in a fun way. Here are the materials that I added to my spider theme playdough tray:

Colorful googly eyes for lots of spider eyes
Plastic toy spiders
toothpicks
small black rocks
metallic or black pipe cleaners
binder coils
number cards

spider playdough tray - There is a black ball of playdough in the center of a purple plastic tray. The tray includes toothpicks, plastic spiders, googly eyes, chenille stems. - an example of spider activities for preschoolers.

Don’t feel like you have to use the same materials as me. Think legs, eyes, webs, and get creative. Here are a few more ideas that I’m going to try the next time:

pieces of yarn to make a spider’s web
buttons
pony beads
straws
bottle caps
sequins
bendy straws for a spider’s legs or a water spout
small pieces of straws for spidery little hairs

The thing that I love about playdough trays is they are a catalyst for imaginative play. It’s so much fun to see what kind of things kids create with an open-ended activity like this.

a blob of black playdough on a plastic yellow tray. A child stuck different loose parts such as googly eyes and pipe cleaners into the play dough.

If you want to add additional math learning opportunities, add some number cards to your set. These spider web number cards are part of the Spider Activity Bundle in my store.

A child used black playdough to create a spider's body. The spider has shiny silver pipe cleaner legs and 3 googly eyes. The spider is shown on a yellow tray with a number card with the number 3 on it.

I hope that you have fun putting together some spider playdough activities. I would love to hear what materials you add to your spidery invitation to play. Please let me know.

Printable Spider Activities In The Store

Are you looking for additional spider-themed learning activities for your classroom? Check out these spider resources in my store. Click on the images below to learn more.