Summer Camp guest post by Jenae of I Can Teach my Child.
Nothing says “summer” like fishing. And who says you can’t learn a little while going fishin’? That’s why this activity is so fun much fun for kids of all ages. The best thing about it is that it can be used over and over again while also easily adapted to meet the age and ability of your child!
- 10 smooth-edged metal lids (like on the ends of juice containers)
- a dowel rod
- a strong magnet – note: be sure to use extreme caution when using magnets with young children.
- yarn
- construction paper
- hot glue gun or white craft glue
- Optional: a laminator (I have a small one like this
)
1. Trace a fish shape on a piece of construction paper. Make sure the body is big enough to cover the entire metal lid. Use as a template and trace 19 more (for a total of 20). Cut them out. Now would be a good time to laminate.
2. Glue the metal lid on by sandwiching it between 2 fish. Because I laminated mine, I used hot glue.
If you don’t have a laminator, simply use white craft glue.
3. Tie a piece of yarn on the end of the dowel rod.
4. Tie the other end of the yarn onto the magnet. This is why I chose a horseshoe magnet.
5. Use a dry-erase marker to add anything that requires automatic recognition. Like numbers, shapes, letters or words.
…or even algebraic equations! :)
Set out the fish (onto a blue blanket, of course) and go fishing!
Like what you see? You can find more activities like this one over here or on Facebook!
Jenae is a former first grade teacher turned stay-at-home mom to two boys. She started I Can Teach My Child! about a year ago as a way to both motivate herself to be more intentional with her boys while also sharing learning activities and resources with other parents of young children.
What a great idea. Not only are they having fun, but they are learning great motor skills. I also like the idea of putting shapes and letters not to mention some words on the fish. Thanks for sharing your project idea.
What magnet did you use? I ordered a horseshoe magnet from Amazon but it’s not strong enough.
I actually picked mine up while at Lowe’s. I’m sorry the one you ordered didn’t work for you!
I LOVE doing this with my kids also! It’s a great way to have family leisure time together. I used to write the letters of the alphabet on the ‘fish’ to help my kids learn their ABC’s, and when they got older I wrote short words like “mom” and “dad” on them so that they could learn to spell. Thanks for this fun reminder of the things my kids and I used to do!
I love this idea and I have a daughter name Jenae, also. Don’t see very many, especially in the 20 something age group. Thanks for sharing.
Oh! I like the dry erase/reusable/age adjustable factor in this game!!! AND making learning *fun* is always a bonus. Will have to try this game to practice sight words over the summer.
I am adding this to my things to do this summer, I know my kids would LOVE this.
what a fun game, I love it! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much for allowing me to join in the Summer Camp Series, Marie! I had a blast! :)