Fish-Themed Activities For Children

It's summer and many families spend these days fishing, boating, at the beach and maybe visiting an aquarium. Here are ways to help children develop knowledge about the creatures that live under the sea.

Fish Stories

Cut out fish shapes from construction paper. From old magazines, cut out interesting pictures and glue these onto the fish. Place all fish into a box. Invite the children to pick a "fish" from the box. Look at the picture and try to incorporate it into a fish story they make up. This is a fun game for a group of children or with the family.

Pick Up Fish (A fine motor game)

Remember the game of pick-up-sticks? Here is a fish version. You will need two containers, one empty and the other filled with fish shaped crackers. Invite the children to use tweezers to move the crackers from one container to the other.

Fish Dramatic Play

Have the children pretend to be fish swimming in the water. Ask, "What type of fish do you want to be?" Tell them to lie on their stomach with their arms close to their side. Now, have them wiggle their body and try to move. Ask, "How would you rest when you are tired? How would you eat? Where would you hide if there were danger?" Have the children describe what they imagine in their underwater world. Act out the following verse.

There is so much activity beneath the sea.

The crab crawls, the eel wiggles,

The octopus swims, the jellyfish jiggles.

Dramatize the creature you want to be!

Fish Net Mobile

Save one of those net bags that oranges or potatoes are sold in. Hang this in a favorite spot. Invite the children to make colorful paper fish cut from construction paper and decorated with art materials. Punch a hole at the top of each fish. Attach the fish to the net with hooks made by opening paper clips.

Going Fishing (Snack)

Give each child two paper cups. One with fish shaped crackers and the other with peanut butter. Give the children a carrot stick and tell them to dip the end of the veggie stick (fishing pole) into the peanut butter and then go fishing into the crackers. The peanut butter makes the crackers stick to the carrot stick. Kids love to see how many fish they can catch!

Children love fish themes and you can enhance these ideas with books, songs and even movies like the movie Finding Dory. There is a mysterious and beautiful world down under the sea, so as you are having fun with fish activities, children are learning through play.

Photo courtesy of Flickr  

Colors All Around Us

Dear Friends,

As we prepare our preschoolers for "Back to School" let's review colors this week. There are colors all around us and using these activities will teach our children to recognize and appreciate the beautiful hues we have close by. Check out these projects and if you enjoy them, please share this page with a friend.

Until next week,

Happy Parenting :)

Colors make our world beautiful in many ways, through nature, food, clothing, crayons—the list is endless. It’s important to emphasize colors in our daily lives as they stimulate a child’s imagination and delight their sense of sight.

There are plenty of activities designed to help children become aware of the many colors that surround them. Here are a few ways to teach colors to children:

• Use the seasons to help teach your child about colors—green in spring, white in winter, orange in fall, blue in summer and so on. Make drawings emphasizing the colors of each season.

• The use of toy blocks, cards, paints, and crayons can help your child develop color skills and learn to name them.

• Talk a walk outdoors (or even in the house) and look for a particular color. Say blue for example, and then ask if a toy is blue, or is the car parked out front blue?

• Choose a day of the week and make it “color day”. Make projects, wear clothing, cook foods and read books about that color.

• Hot glue crayons to a strip of tag board. Then provide a second set of crayons and invite the children to match the colors.  

                                                             

• Read a good book involving colors. Some favorites are:

          The Mixed-up Chameleon by Eric Carle

          Colors (Slide ‘n Seek) by Chuck Murphy

          Colors (Children’s Collection Board Books) by Anne Geddes

Color Match—

Pick up free paint chip cards from your local paint store. Choose cards in shades of red, yellow and blue. At home, cut each rectangular chip apart. Spread these across the table and have the children match each hue.

Paint and Sniff—

When painting a picture with poster paints, add a few drops of baking extracts to give these paints a flavor (scent). Painting with scents is a fun and sensory experience for children!

Strawberry Extract = Red

Lemon Extract = Yellow

Peppermint Extract = Green

Orange Extract = Orange

Chocolate Extract = Brown

Anise (Licorice) Extract = Black

Color Wands—

Dance to the beat of music waving colorful streamers in the air. Use toilet or paper towel tubes for the wands. The children can paint the cardboard tubes and then enhance them with crayons, markers or stickers. Next, attach crepe paper streamers to the wand with a stapler. For a variation, add ribbons and/or colorful strips of cloth.

Color Hokey-Pokey—

Have colored circle stickers in four colors. These are easily found in office or craft stores. Every child gets a sticker on each hand and each foot (having one of each color on each body part). Play Color Hokey-Pokey by singing, “Put your blue dot in, put your blue dot out, put your blue dot in and shake it all about. You do the Color Pokey and you turn yourself around. That’s what it’s all about. BLUE!” Continue playing with the other colors.

NOTE: This article has been published in several regional parenting magazines across the country, including Parent Guide News and Metro Parent (SE Michigan).

Photo courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons   
Crayon photo by Tania Cowling, all rights reserved

It's a New Year in the Preschool Department

I've started (or actually gone back to) a site where I have developed two channels for preschool educators, parents, homeschooling parents and caregivers. Suite101.com has allowed me to create two preschool channels -- one for everyday themes and activities and the other for holiday projects.

I'm hoping you will find some time to visit these channels, as well as others you may find interesting. You will see articles from me and other educators on these links. Take a peek! I hope you will find interesting activities to share with your children and students.

Preschool Education: Tips, Tools and Resources

Holiday Projects for Preschoolers

If you're looking for crafts, songs, educational activities and more - you have come to the right place!

Until next time,
Tania

Photo courtesy of morguefile.com

Welcome Everyone!

Hello and welcome to my new blog full of creative activities and crafts for preschool children. Many of these ideas can be used in schools, homeschooling, by parents and grandparents. Check back often for instructions on crafts, games, lesson plans, new books and toys on the market and so much more.

Feel free to comment and email me for things you need and ways to enhance what I have posted. The site is new and under construction, but the first links will be up very shortly.

Happy Holidays,
Tania K. Cowling