Materials
Books and magazines with photos of the inside and outside of different shanties
(ice fishing houses) and people fishing
large appliance boxes
variety of art supplies
three 5-gallon buckets
plastic or cardboard fish
flat piece of Styrofoam (at least 2" thick and large enough to rest on the top of a bucket)
craft sticks
several sticks, dowel rods, or 1" x 1" pieces of wood approximately 2' long
yarn
magnets
Instructions
1. Introduce ice fishing to the children using the books and magazines. Invite a
parent or community member who has participated in the sport into the
classroom to speak to the children and answer their questions.
2. Invite the children to decorate large appliance boxes to create shanties for
their Dramatic Play area. These can also be used in the playground.
3. When the children are finished help them push their shanties onto the
pretend ice and prepare the inside.
4. The children can use two of the 5-gallon buckets as seats or they can sit on
classroom chairs or hollow blocks.
5. Use the third bucket to represent ice. Place the plastic or cardboard fish in
the bucket. Then put a piece of Styrofoam on the bucket (ice) and encourage
the children to "drill" or chop a hole in the ice using craft sticks.
6. Help the children make fishing poles from sticks and yarn. Add magnets to
the fish and the end of the yarn on the poles so that the children are able to
catch some fish.
Science: Add sheets of ice to
a water table. Predict and
chart the time it takes to
melt. Compare sheets of
ice that are inside with
sheets that are outside.
Observe different
thicknesses and discuss the
differences in melting
times. Begin to
hypothesize on the safety
of the frozen lake or river.
