Deck the Halls with... Fish?

We are moving into Christmas mode here. The day after Thanksgiving is our day to break out the Christmas tree. With two small children in our house, I decided to leave our tree decorations in the storage box and go with entirely home-made decorations this year. So, be forewarned - in the upcoming weeks there will be lots of crafts to create holiday decorations for your home and tree.

But for today, we have a fishing theme.

Story Time: Dr. Seuss' One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish would be perfect. Barring that you own that particular Dr. Seuss, try looking through your picture books for fish. Have your kids help you look for them.

Craft Time: Today we are making a fishing pole and fish. Use an old papertowel tube for the fishing pole. (don't have one? get creative and find something else to use... a stick from your yard maybe?) Poke a hole in the end and tie on a length of yarn or string. Make a hook from a pipe cleaner for the end. You could also use aluminum foil - just scrunch and shape.



For the fish, cut them out of construction paper, making 4 fish per page. I stacked several sheets, cut them in half, then in half again. Then I cut groups of fish out of the piles rather than cutting individual fish. I let my daughter draw on eyes and fins, whatever she felt the fish needed, while I worked on making the rings. Just take small strips of paper, make a ring and tape it together, then tape on the fish.


Indoor Time: Go fishing! We found that having the hook be closer to an "L" shape rather than a "J" worked much better, but you can tailer it to the age and skill level of your child. Put the fish on the floor and let your kids hook them with their fishing poles. Give them a bucket or basket to put the fish as they catch them. My one year old daughter didn't bother with the fishing pole - she just enjoyed picking up the fish and putting them in the bucket!


Art Time: Draw a wavy blue line across the top of a sheet of doodle paper. Tell your child that is the top of a lake or ocean and have them draw and color in the fish that live there.


Music Time: Sing Row Row Row Your Boat and other songs with your kids today.



Outdoor Time: Imagination is the game today. Let your kids pretend to be on a fishing trip. They can hike along a great river and fish from the banks or get in a boat and float down the river, catching fish and spotting wildlife along the way.