Anansi the Spider and the Spicy Beans
This week we’re doing a bit more web spinning and digging in the garden whilst finding out why spiders don’t have hair with the tale of Anansi the Spider and the spicy beans… Here are a few ideas linked to the tale!
Play:
Anansi goes to help his Grandma with her garden, so why not make a spider (or a fairy/snail/tiny creature) garden of your own? You can use trays or a box and fill with leaves as ‘grass’, make some ponds with small pots lined with silver foil, stick in twigs in old mushed-colour play-dough to make trees, and put up mini bunting made of recycled paper… (photo of lockdown ones?)
If you have stockpiled any dry beans, for younger hands, you could make a sensory play tray of beans – and if you have a few different sorts of beans, you could use them for sorting activities!
Arts and crafts:
Spider crafts hoorah! You could glue matchsticks onto black circles to make spiders and hang them up with string. Or make webs, with something long and stretchy enough, in different cosy corners!
Cooking – have a go at cooking some ‘spicy beans’ for tea (erm, not very spicy). Our normal go-to cupboard beans are a version of this recipe https://www.inspiredtaste.net/36395/coconut-black-beans-recipe/ but with some frozen spinach cubes thrown in, and just cumin and dry coriander for ‘spice’ (so no bay leaf, cinnamon, lime or fresh coriander)…
Music:
It’s a Bumble Bee rather than a spider, but here’s a fun version of Flight of the Bumblebee with Yo-Yo Ma on his cello (and Bobby McFerrin buzzing) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxr6Gu31Qms and it’s just a minute long. Not sure it’s one that we’ll be adding to the Beanstalk Arts cello repertoire..!
Watching:
‘Dig in the Garden’ song – here’s Becky’s glorious Beanstalk Arts video of just the song…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az9gh-M11ik
Here’s a youtube version of this story – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sau3E2LEfcI
Reading:
Here is a collection of Anansi the Spider stories…
https://kidworldcitizen.org/anansi-stories-trickster-spider-west-africa-caribbean/
Writing (probably best for slightly older kids):
Spider crossword: https://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/m-crossword-spiders.htm