This past week we were learning about fish and I remembered I had a book that I knew my 3yr. old would love — Fish Eyes by Lois Ehlert. I was right — it is currently his favorite book! The pictures in the book are so simple yet colorful. I thought it would be fun to create our own fish!

The beauty of the book, Fish Eyes, is that it introduces several concepts without children even knowing it! First of all it is a numbers and counting book geared toward toddlers and preschoolers. This book counts up to 10 where children can count the eyes on the fish which are hole-punched or they can count the fish. Older children will probably notice a small little black fish. This fish helps students count on– or add. Then the illustrations contain many shapes and vibrant colors which can lead to wonderful discussions too.

Fish Eyes by Lois Ehlert – Craft Activity

Supplies:

Fish Eyes by Lois Ehlert
colored paper
scissors
wiggly eyes (we used the colored eyes)
glue
circle punch
twine
chipboard or heavy cardstock

My four children, ages ranging from 3 to 9 enjoyed this craft! I traced fish shapes onto various colors of cardstock. The children cut out the fish shape and then started cutting various shapes to glue on to their fish. (You might find that younger students will need you to cut the fish body out but they will be able to cut out various lines and shapes to add on to the fish.)

One thing I taught them was that it was ok for pieces to hang over the edge of the fish. After they were done, we would clip off any pieces. That allowed them to feel free to cover the fish with shapes from edge to edge.

While they worked, we looked at the pictures and talked about how certain color combinations seemed to pop off the page. We also saw how just using simple shapes can create interesting details on our fish.

Once all our fish creations were made, we glued them onto chipboard (heavy cardstock) and made a Fish Eyes banner so that we could display our fishy friends! We just put them in random order, but you could follow the pattern in the book and use it as a counting banner.

For more fish-y activities check out: