.png)
Summer time is the perfect opportunity to teach children in a stress-free environment. There are so many topics to explore together with children making it fun, creative, and educational.
My children are between the ages of 3 and 8. Wanting to include them all, I arranged activities and games that they can participate - each on their level.
For the first week, I chose the theme fish! It's a topic that involves science, nature, and a touch of adventure. Fish are fascinating creatures that can be found in various bodies of water around the world. Perfect for keeping the little minds engaged.
In this blog post, I’ll share helpful information and fun facts about fish the way I taught them, then we’ll explore fun and educational ways to teach children about fish, including books, crafts, and curriculum resources.
About Fish
First off, I had a conversation with the kids and we discussed all they know about fish. We continued discussing that fish are aquatic creatures that reside in water and breathe using gills. Their diets can differ significantly depending on the species. Some fish are herbivores, feeding on plants, while others are carnivores, consuming other fish or small animals like insects and plankton. Certain fish have teeth to help them catch and eat their prey, whereas others use their mouths to suck up tiny particles. Additionally, fish possess a unique part of their digestive system known as a swim bladder, which aids them in maintaining buoyancy in the water.
We discussed, "There are many kinds of fish in the world. Some are big and scary, like sharks, while others are small and friendly, like goldfish. Each type of fish has something special about it."
Fish reproduce by laying eggs, with different species employing various methods. Some fish lay their eggs in nests in calm areas of the water, while others scatter their eggs more broadly. After hatching, some fish simply grow larger without changing shape, while others undergo metamorphosis, transforming in appearance and behavior as they mature.
We read the All About Fish Book and the Fascinating Ocean Book together.
The Fish Question & Answer Book was great for our 3 year old. It had the perfect explanations for a younger child.
10 Fun Facts About Fish
Lots of Fish Friends: There are more than 34,000 different kinds of fish! That’s more species than all the mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians combined.
Super Swimmers: Some fish, like the sailfish, can swim as fast as a car on a highway, reaching speeds of up to 68 miles per hour!
Breathing Underwater: Fish breathe using special organs called gills. Gills take in oxygen from the water so fish can stay underwater their whole lives.
Glowing Fish: Some fish, like the lanternfish, can glow in the dark deep ocean. This glowing is called bioluminescence and helps them find friends and food in the pitch-black depths.
Jumping Out of Water: Flying fish can leap out of the water and glide through the air for up to 650 feet to escape from predators.
Electric Power: Electric eels can produce electric shocks up to 600 volts! They use this electricity to defend themselves and catch food.
Changing Colors: Some fish, like the chameleon fish, can change their colors to blend into their surroundings or show different moods.
Tiny and Giant Fish: The smallest fish, the dwarf pygmy goby, is only about half an inch long. The largest fish, the whale shark, can grow as big as a school bus!
Traveling Fish: Salmon are amazing travelers. They are born in freshwater rivers, travel to the salty ocean, and then swim back to the same river to lay their eggs.
Super Smart: Some fish can recognize human faces! Studies show that fish like archerfish can remember and tell apart different human faces.
Hands-On Activities
Here are some of the activities we did throughout the week. You can download our booklet below.
Labeling The Parts:
The children colored the fish and fish tank. Then they cut out the fish and pasted it into the tank. They then cut each part of the fish and pasted it around the tank and drew lines to it's correct part. This great activity is part of our printable activity book you can purchase below.
Creating An Ocean Themed Wheel:
We colored and created our own 'Ocean Wheel'. The children were able to do it on their own. (My three year old needed help with cutting on the dotted line and attaching his fastener.) This wheel is part of the printable booklet below.
We created our own puzzles using popsicle sticks. (The puzzle image is part of our 'All About Fish' downloads.) We stuck the picture onto the sticks with regular stick glue. We used around 15 of the small sticks, or 7 of the larger sized sticks for the 3 year old. Once the image was pasted on and dried. We cut between the sticks to separate them using a Gillette (Mom's Only). You can use a sharp knife for the same results.
We did the Melissa and Doug fish themed sticker by number. The kids loved these so much. There is 12 pictures included so they were each able to do a few.
Activity Book
Each child got their own booklet with the activities that they did throughout the week. I did prepare the activities per child according to their level. Some of them were too hard for my 3 and 5 year-olds to do independently.
I added to their folders fish themed stickers, and mini fish figurines to play with.
Buggy and Buddy has the instructions to creating your own ocean playdough. We had fun playing and creating our own ocean with rocks and fish.
We had so much fun decorating our edible fish tanks! We spread blue melted chocolate on top of Graham Crackers and had fun creating our own fish tank. Using Jelly Fish, Candy, Chocolate Rocks, Nut Crunch, and some more small candy I found in the house! Each child's came out different with what their own little minds came up with!
Of course we shared some silly fish jokes at dinner time!
10 Jokes About Fish
(That kids will find funny!)
Why did the fish cross the road?
To get to the other tide!
What do you call a fish with no eyes?
Fsh!
Why don’t fish play basketball?
Because they’re afraid of the net!
What do you call a fish that loves to play guitar?
A bass player!
How do fish get to school?
By octo-bus!
What kind of music do fish listen to?
Something catchy!
Why are fish so smart?
Because they live in schools!
What do you get when you cross a fish and a piano?
You get a tuna that can carry a tune!
Why do fish always know how much they weigh?
Because they have their own scales!
What did the shark say after eating a clownfish?
This tastes a little funny!
We finished off the week by visiting our favorite aquarium - The New York Aquarium. We made our own checklist before where the kids listed their favorite fish and what they hoping to see. They had a great time crossing off their list as they were walking through the aquarium.
It's been a week of memory making and fun! We are looking forward to our next learning week coming up!
*This post has some affiliate links to help support this blog.
Comments