The Itsy Bitsy Spider

This is a prop that I made to use with "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" during storytimes.  The children loved it but I'm not sure I will use it again, because I would rather have them participate with the hand movements, and it's hard to get them to participate if you are not doing the motions yourself.  Maybe I will sing the song once with the prop and sing it again as a fingerplay.

Materials needed:

• Paper towel tube
• Aluminum foil
• Blue yarn
• Black yarn
• Large black bead (I colored a wooden one with a Sharpie)
• Black pipe cleaner
• Googly eyes
• Glue

Directions:  Cover paper towel tube in aluminum foil.  Tie a long piece of black yarn around the black bead, and insert through the paper towel tube.  Tie back yarn so that it forms a loop inside the tube. Insert bits of black pipe cleaner through the black bead; these are the spider's legs. Glue the googly eyes onto the bead- your spider is complete!  Cut multiple lengths of blue yarn about twelve inches long. About six inches above the spider, tie these pieces of blue yarn to the black yarn.  This is your rain!  

The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the waterspout.
Down came the rain and washed the spider out.
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain
And the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again!

Performance: Start the song by pulling the spider "up the waterspout" by pulling on one end of the black yarn.  Bring down the rain and "wash the spider out" by pulling on the black yarn in the opposite direction.  When the sun comes up and "dries up all the rain", pull the spider and the rain inside of the water spout again.