Lil Sprouts Book Club: The Rainbow Fish

 Rainbow fish by Marcus Pfister is one of my favorite books. It's a great story to teach your little ones about being humble and sharing. Rainbow fish is a beautiful little fish with shiny scales that seeks the wisdom of the wise octopus...along his journey Rainbow fish discovers that his shiny scales are no longer the most important part of who he is, but rather its about the kindness he shows others and how he learns to share what is most precious to him.  This story could not have come at a better time in our household. Last year we welcomed a baby boy into our household and now he is a year old he runs around the house trying to keep up with his 4 year old sister, following everything she does with such love and admiration...it is absolutely the sweetest thing I have ever seen. Until my 4 year old gets tired of it and takes her toy back or wants what he has...then utter chaos ensues. So the story of the Rainbow fish has helped to teach my little one how to share and include her little brother instead of pushing him away...while it hasn't solved the issue completely it is a colorful reminder for her. Each time she starts to get out of control with her brother I ask her to go read her Rainbow fish book and then come back and handle the situation. This technique has helped to calm her down and remove her from the intensity of the argument or tug of war she usually gets in with her little brother.

Since I love the artwork so much in this story we just had to do a couple of art activities for Rainbow fish.

Materials

Craft paint (blue and green)

white construction paper

paper towels

green crinkle paper

blue paint swatches

google eye

glue & scissors

For this activity we collected a few paint swatches in different shades of blue from our local home improvement store. I cut them to resemble scales. We also used an old gift bag that was silver and cut a few scales out of that as well. I had my little one layer them on top of the head and tail of the fish that I cut out. Add your google eye.

For the background I squirted a bunch of different shades of blues and green craft paint  onto a paper plate. I gave my little one a paper towel that was waded up and had her dab it all over her paper, blotting it with a dry paper towel.

Once dry glue your fish into the middle of the paper, add a little green crinkle grass for seaweed.

Materials

liquid starch

large flat shallow container

craft paint

white construction paper

marker, glue & scissors

felt stickers

To make your octopus pour your liquid starch into a shallow plastic container that is as big as your paper. Add a few sprinkles of your favorite color of craft paint, let your little one swirl the craft paint using a toothpick, until they like their design. Float your paper on top of the starch, as it starts to curl slowly pick up your paper and turn over to let dry. Allow to dry overnight. Cut a gumdrop shape out and 8 long legs about 1/2 an inch wide. Have your little one glue the legs onto the back of the octopus body. Turn it over and write the numbers 1 through 8 onto the legs. Have your little one practice their counting and number recognition. Ask them to name the different numbers (out of order), practice counting backwards, counting even numbers, and odd. Have them find the number that represents their age. When they are all done have them use stickers or another object and attach them onto the legs to represent the number shown for example on the fifth leg there would be 5 stickers. Once you are all done take a marker or other round object and wrap the legs around to curl them a little bit.

 

I found these fun cupcakes on pinterest. They would be a great addition to this story if you are looking for an edible treat. Follow our boards for more educational ideas for your little ones

I hope that Rainbow fish becomes one of your favorite read aloud stories, it is definitely one of ours. What books do you love to read to your children? Leave us a comment below we would love to hear from you!