| Sandra's guide pages |
| Fish activities |
| FOOD Get sticks and tie string to one end of them--like a fishing line. Tie a large marshmallow to the end of the string. Have the kids pair up. One of them lies down and the other one stands over him with the marshmallow fishing line over his mouth. The kid with the fishing line has to get the marshmallow into the mouth of the kid who's laying down. The kid who's laying down is not allowed to move his head or use his hands. Once the marshmallow is in the mouth, for safety reasons, the kids can sit up to eat their "catch", then the kids switch places. You could have this be a race,whichever team feeds their "fish" the fastest wins.....I hope this helps...I know that it's a stretch, but you might be able to make it work! Fishing For A Snack You will need: Blue napkins, medicine cups, pretzels, gold fish crackers, peanut butter Open up napkin and place fish in the middle. (The napkin is the ocean.) Have peanut butter in the cup. (This is the bait cup.) Use pretzels for fishing rods. Dip in bait (peanut butter) and catch a fish. Eat fish and bait. keep fishing until all the fish are eaten. Starfish Cake Make 2 round sponge cakes. When cool, leave one cake whole and cut the second cake into five equal sections. These five pieces will become the legs of the starfish. Place the first layer in the centre of a large, flat serving tray or platter. Trim the curved edges of the starfish legs, so that they fit snugly against the round edge of the body piece. Arrange the legs neatly around the body of the starfish and attach with icing. Frost with bright yellow, orange, purple, or red icing. Decorate with coloured sprinkles while the icing is still damp to give the starfish a spiny texture. For extra fun, spread blue frosting on the serving tray to make it look like the starfish is in water. Fish Bowl For this fun snack, you will need a large, clear bowl, one package of blue or green jellygummy fish, and a cup of low-fat whipped topping. Make jelly according to package instructions. Pour into the bowl and set in the refrigerator. As jelly thickens, (check after about an hour) insert the gummy fish into the "sea." When it is time to serve, spread whipped topping over the top to create the illusion of surf. Serve in cups or small bowls. CRAFTS OCEAN IN A BAG For each child: 2 snack size Ziploc bags(smaller than sandwich size) Blue hair gel a few beads glitter Fish and sharks cut out of fun foam small shells (if desired) A length of strong clear tape (like mailing tape) Cut small fish and sharks out of bright colors of fun foam. Be sure to pick colors that will show through the blue hair gel. I like yellow and orange. Give each child a few fish and sharks to put in one of their bags. Leave the other bag aside until the end. Let them pick a few beads (bubbles) and sprinkle a little glitter or sequins in their bag and shells if you would like. Look for large generic containers of blue hair gel at the dollar store or other discount stores. If you can, pour into some type of squeeze bottle (like a clean old ketchup bottle or something) and let the children squeeze a good amount of hair gel into their ziploc bag. Depending on the age of the child, they may need some help. Seal the bag and insert into the other ziploc bag. Seal that bag and cover the seam with the clear tape. The child has now created their own personal ocean in a bag! These can go in the fridge to cool the gel. Children love to squish their oceans around, just be careful that they do not pop them! Shark Puppet You will need: an envelope, crayons, scissors and tape. What you do: 1. Lick the flap and seal the envelope. With scissors, cut about half an inch off one end of the envelope. On the opposite end of the envelope, draw a triangle for the shark's mouth. 2. Cut out the triangle. Place the triangle anywhere along the top of the envelope, (a fin) Fasten with tape. 3. Use crayons to decorate the shark. Draw the sharks teeth and eyes. To open the shark's mouth, take hold of the top and bottom of mouth and gently push down. Then fold back the teeth edge of the mouth about half inch to form the shark's jaws. Put your hand inside and use your fingers to make the shark snap its teeth. Sock or Mitten Fish Make mittens or old socks into tropical fish with felt scraps, glitter,sequins, googly eyes (2 per guest), ribbons, buttons, and permanent markers.Let guests create their own species, and be sure to write each child’s name on their special fish. Continue the fun with a puppet show afterwards! Making Waves You will need the following for this activity: cooking oil, glitter, fish & star confetti, a small plastic bottle for each guest, blue or green food coloring, rubber cement glue, & water. Using a funnel, fill each bottle half full of water. Add blue or green food coloring, and gently shake to mix. Next, use the funnel to fill the bottle almost to the top with oil. Point out how the oil floats above the water! Add confetti and glitter to decorate the liquid inside the bottle. When finished decorating, seal the lid on the bottle tightly with rubber cement. Allow the glue to dry. When the glue is dry, let the kids turn the bottles on their sides and gently tip them back and forth. Your guests will love playing with the waves they’ve created! (see also Guiding magazine Dec 01 / Jan 02? for a lava lamp using this technique) OTHER ACTIVITIES Fishing Pond For this activity, you will need a helper. Drape a sheet over two tall chairs, or string fishing line tightly between two objects across the room. Decorate the sheet with paper fish or stickers to symbolize that it is the sea. Use an old fishing pole or make your own by tying string to a pole. Attach a clothespin to the end of the string. Give each guest a chance to "cast" his or her line over the sheet. Make sure your helper stays out of sight while attaching small gifts, favours, or treats to the clothespin. To indicate that a fish has "bitten", the helper yanks gently on the line. Watch your guests giggle in delight as they reel in their lines and see what they’ve caught. Sea Shell Treasure Hunt Everyone loves to find treasures! Use your child’s sandbox or fill a plastic swimming pool with sand. Add a bunch of different sea shells, plastic fish,sharks, etc. and cover them with sand. Let the kids search for the shells using colanders or sifters. If you wish, add unusual rocks or other treasures that can be found under the sea. Assorted shells and stones are available at your local craft store. Make your own fishing hole 1. get wooden rods 2. tie some string to the end 3. with a hot glue gun attach the small round or square magnets to the opposite end of the string. 4. cut out some fish different sizes, lengths (cloth, felt,or foam, will work the best) 5. glue the attracting magnet to the fish. IF YOU MIX UP THE (POLARS)MAGNETS ATTRACTION IT MAKES CATCHING THE FISH MORE OF A CHALLENGE. Have some attract to the pole and some fish not attract and vice versa. You could try making a fish with each child's name one, and they try to catch "their own" fish. Educational Talk about the colors fish have so they can camoflage themselves. The difference between a fluke and a flounder (two types of fish) one has eyes on the left the other has eyes on the right. In the Mid-Altantic region you catch flounder in the winter and fluke in the summer. Underwater habitats that certain fish live in and need to survive. CATFISH = bottom feeders Sunnies = upper level fish |