Kid’s Frugal Craft: “Hook” your Valentine with this Candy-filled Fish!

I’m going to try to squeeze in a couple more Valentine crafts this evening.  This first one is from Momondealz’s Kids Frugal Fun page.

Valentine’s “Hooked on You” Plastic Water Bottle Craft

Materials:
Plastic water bottle
Construction paper or tissue paper cut into small pieces and 2 “fin” pieces
Glue or Mod Podge
String
Lollipops

Directions:
1. Empty, clean, and dry the water bottle. Be sure to remove the label.
2. Hold the bottom of the bottle and twist it to create the tail fin.

3. Use a pencil to get rid of the dents created in the body part while twisting.
4. Fill with candy (I suggest lollipops as your child can easily insert and retrieve these items). Otherwise the “fish” will need to be cut open to remove the treats.
5. Cover the outside of the fin and body with glue or Mod Podge.
6. Have your child place the small pieces of paper to cover the body and fin.
7. Add the fins.
8. Create your own label (I used Print Shop) and attach it to one of the lollipop sticks with the string.

Educational Activities:

  • Language Arts:
    1. Read the book Rainbow Fish A,B,C and have your child use multi-colored paper to create their own rainbow fish.
    2. Have your child create/write special messages to insert inside the fish.
    3. Have your child tell or write a story about their fish going on an adventure. Allow them to illustrate their story in their journal.
    4. Focus on the letter F and have their fish “hunt” around the house for other ‘F’ words.
  • Math:
    1. As your child cuts (or you cut) the paper into pieces, have the estimate how many small pieces will be created. Then have them count the actual number to check their estimation.
    2. Instead of randomly cutting the paper into pieces, cut the paper into different shapes and have your child ID the shapes.
  • Science:
    1. Discuss fish characteristics and their habitat. Use a shoebox to create a shadow box to put your fish bottle in after Valentine’s Day.
    2. Close up your fish with the bottle cap after Valentine’s day and have a sink or float experiment with it.
  • Fine Motor Skills: Allow your child to do the cutting in this craft (with safety scissors of course) and also allow them to insert the candy in the bottle. Also, the gluing in this project lends itself to improving fine motor skills.

I adapted this craft from one originally seen here.

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