Perhaps more than ever, teaching our children about the importance of sharing and caring for others is critical. I've always loved The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister as a beautiful example of how sharing makes others happy, as well as ourselves. In the award-winning book, a beautiful fish learns to make friends by giving away his most prized possessions. Not only is the book visually stunning with foil-stamping and dazzling colors on every page (don't be fooled by the faded library cover in this photo), but the universal message about sharing and kindness leads to great discussions with children!
After reading The Rainbow Fish, we began constructing our own rainbow fish.
Celery-Stamping Art
Materials:
- Fish printout
- Washable paint - all colors
- Celery (cut up in 2-inch pieces)
- Sequins
- Googly eyes (large)
- Glue gun
I did minimal prep for this craft by printing out the fish shape on card stock. (Here is the free template that I used: Rainbow Fish Template.) I also pre-cut the celery and attached the large googly eye beforehand.)
I dispensed a small amount of each paint color on a paper plate and gave my son a piece of celery for each color. He loved the novelty of painting with celery and how the shape it created resembled a fish scale!
Once he was satisfied with his celery stamping, I gave him a small amount of silver sequins and he dropped them onto the parts of the fish that had "globs" of paint.
Candy Sushi
In retrospect, a snack relating to sushi might seem a little grim after reading a story about fish, but my kids loved making candy sushi! The best part of this recipe is that kids can participate in every step. Here's what you will need:
- 3 cups Rice Krispies cereal
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. butter
- 20 large marshmallows
- Fruit Rollups
- Gummy worms
- Swedish Fish
Melt the butter in the microwave in a large, microwave-safe bowl. Once melted, add the marshmallows and melt, 30 seconds at a time, until marshmallows and butter can be mixed together. Watch carefully to make sure marshmallows don't explode. Once combined, add in Rice Krispies and mix well. Roll out a Fruit Rollup and, once cooled, drop about 3/4 cup of the Rice Krispies mix in the center of the Fruit Rollup. Your child may need help spreading the sticky mixture into an even layer, leaving a little space around the edges. Then, lay out gummy worms and Swedish Fish in the middle (I found 2 of each worked perfectly) and begin to roll. Once rolled, show your child how to use a plastic knife to slice the sushi into six slices. For extra fun, show your child how to use chopsticks, and enjoy!
