Materials
crayons
paper
Styrofoam grocery trays
Exacto knife (adult only)
fingerpaint paper
water
paint smocks
blue and yellow fingerpaint
shallow trays
paintbrushes
Instructions
1. Ask the children to draw simple fish outlines on paper. Use their outlines
to create stencils by placing their drawings in Styrofoam trays and
cutting out the fish using an Exacto knife (adult only).
2. Spray water on the tables and put fingerpaint paper shiny side up. Put a
dollop of blue fingerpaint in the center of each dampened paper.
3. Help the children put on paint smocks.
4. Encourage them to cover their paper with the paint, using both hands
and not just their fingertips. When they have spread the blue paint all
the way to the edges, add a small amount of yellow in different places on
different papers for variety. Explain to the children that since the ocean is
many different shades of blue and green, their pictures will look more
realistic if they spread the yellow around to look like a water current
rather than covering the whole paper with the yellow paint. Allow to dry.
5. Return the dried paintings to the children. Ask them to color a dark area
near the lower edge to resemble the ocean floor.
6. Pour bright colors of paint into shallow containers. Demonstrate how to
position a fish stencil over the painting and brush on the paint to create
a fish. Encourage the children to use different stencils and different
colors of paint to create a "school" of fish.
More to do Put the fish stencils in the art area for children to use.
More Art: Repeat the fingerpainting experience another day, using a
combination of red and blue to produce purple and yellow and red to
produce orange.
Math: Cut out 11 fish from tagboard, write the numerals 0-10 on each one,
and ask the children to put them in order.
Music: Sing "Down By the Bay."
Sand Table: Provide a variety of seashells for children to find and compare.
Snack: Give the children blue fruit drink and fish crackers.
