This is a great game for pre-school children (2+) but it can be used with older children as well. you can use it for simple vocabulary review or to make sentences.

How to play:

- place all of the small flashcards face up in the middle of the group

- students must turn around and cover their eyes

- the teacher places one marker under each card (either a piece of candy or a spider) I usually do it in a ration of about 2:1 candy and spiders. You might want to have more candy for younger students.

- students turn around and one by one call out a vocabulary word or make a sentence using the word.

- the teacher lifts the card to reveal what's underneath. If it's a candy card, the student takes the card and keeps it as one point. If it's a spider card, don't make the student take the card. Leave the spider on top of the card and proceed to the next player.

- The person with the most candy wins!

You can turn over cards after they have been opened. That tells the students not to guess that card again. For older students you can leave everything face up and they have to remember what has been opened.

For larger classes, play in groups of 4 and let one of the students play the role of the teacher.

Markers to print: Print these to regular paper and cut them out

There are three different sets of spiders. Use the cute ones for 2-4 year olds. If you are playing with older children, use the scarier ones.

This is a great game for one-on-one classes with young children. Take turns being the teacher and once you find three spiders your turn as the hunter is over. Tally the number of candy pieces you each win.

If you have any questions or suggestions for this game, post them here.

******variations******

Different items to search for - here are several other items you can print off and hide under the cards. Instead of candy, hunt for treasure or ice cream. Instead of spiders, watch out for frogs or caterpillars.

with the baseball game - play the same way, but every time a player finds candy, they can take a baseball card and proceed around the bases. If the player finds a spider, that's one out. This is good for elementary school students who know and understand the rules of kickball or baseball.

more than one item under a card - try placing a few pieces of candy under one card. That way there is a special card or a chance for a turn around in the candy totals.