Thursday, March 4, 2010

Counting Felt Fish

These little guys have been on my "must do" list for ages now, and thanks to the seemingly never-ending rains we've been getting this month, I was able to finally start and finish the project all in one afternoon!I got the idea for a "fishing game" from a lovely Waldorf book I found at the library (I've since returned the book and cannot for the life of me remember the title - sorry!!). Anyway, I decided to add my own twist to the game by making the fish "counting fish".

There are 10 total and each has some type of crafty embellishment that James can count and a tiny metal washer that attaches to the magnet at the end of the fishing wire (i.e. a colorful piece of yarn) on the fishing rod (i.e. a wooden dowel).

Aren't they fun?! I had SO much fun making these. James helped me design the fish by choosing the colors and embellishments. :)

The beauty of these little fish is that a) they are each unique and interesting to explore making for a fun sensory experience b) they can assist in color recognition c) they can be used not just for rote counting, but also for addition & subtraction activities and d) the fishing aspect provides an excellent opportunity to develop eye-hand coordination and overall concentration.

James absolutely adores this mama made creation! We created a "pond" with a blue play silk and boy did James think that was the BEST. He got so excited whenever he caught a fish and he'd shout out their numbers or colors.

This is James' favorite - we named him "lucky fish".

And here's James and his kitty, Buca, checking out the catch of the day. ;)


54 comments:

sbswtp said...

These are fantastic!!! I love them. What a great idea :)

Anonymous said...

Okay I just completely fell in LOVE with this activity! I need to buy some more felt then I am going to make some of these! Thanks for sharing this fun game idea!!

OOhh I totally sewed my first felt project a few days ago. I made a shamrock for Sammy's sensory box :-) and I though Mari-Ann would be so proud of me ;-)

Unknown said...

I just love you! These are so stinkin cute!

Musical Mama said...

These are too cute!!! Totally on my to-make list now, and I have a ton of felt scraps that need to be used up, as well.

Kylie said...

Oh these are gorgeous. :)

Packer Family said...

LOVELOVELOVELOVE Them! So cute and the washers are genius!!!

Unknown said...

I made one of those for my kids just the other day--but not nearly as cute as yours. I need to get a stronger magnet too. I just have paper clips in their mouths because anything else was too heavy for my wimpy fishing pole magnet.

Theresa Mezo said...

Okay, these are the cutest darn fish I have ever seen!
I think I am going to have to make my kiddo a set of these, he would love them!
Now.. to find the time to make them!... thanks so much for the inspiration, they're adorable! :)

AndieF said...

What a great idea! I might have to make these, and I'm not very crafty!

Elise said...

They are awesome. I love your list where you outlined the beauty of these fish - so versatile, so perfect. You are one clever, creative mum. It's always such a joy to stop by here.

Sippy Cup Central said...

Lovely game, plus, I just linked you for other past activities. Thanks, Karen

The Activity Mom said...

So cool! Great idea. They turned out great!

Angela said...

Oh my goodness, i cannot wait to make these. This is the cutest thing ever. What a great gift also.

Rusheika said...

ooh!!! I HAVE to make these for sure! and Wednesday is fine... I'll email you.

Gay Vaughan said...

These are so wonderful! Simply precious. I have started a weekly link-up for items like this. You should share this with my readers.
~Gay~
itsahodgepodgelife.blogspot.com

Megan Gunyan said...

Augh! What a great idea! I love it. And it looks like the cute little guy loves it too! Great job!

Fawnda@Fireflies and Jellybeans said...

these are A-Dorable! My son will love these! Thanks for sharing! : )

Eva said...

It's called "Creative Play for your toddler" :) one of my FAVOURITE books!! this has also been on my to-do list. Yours have turned out absolutely beautiful!!

Fawnda@Fireflies and Jellybeans said...

I just wanted to let you know that I featured you here:

http://firefliesandjellybeans.blogspot.com/2010/03/sunday-spotlight-soys-favorites.html

Deborah Stewart said...

Gorgeous Fishies! Probably the prettiest I have ever seen. By the way, if you make a long, thin, little pouch the length of your poles with a draw string at the top, you can keep each pole in a separate pouch and the strings and magnets of the poles won't get tangled.

kerli said...

What a cute game!

Strangely enough, I have been thinking of trying to make a game like this. When I was little, my older sister and myself made a really simple - just fishing - game, the fishes were drawn on paper and we only had a little magnet that came out of a broken kitchen cupboard door. We would place the magnet under a fish on the floor and then go and try to catch it :)

kerli,
sincerely

Jamee said...

awesome!! i love it and the other things you got going on - on your blog so i am following you

Little Lexi said...

Cute idea. My daughter is 2 1/2 and I am so impressed at all the stuff that your boy can do. I need to get going and do some of these great ideas.

p.s I am from Mn too.

Lenetta said...

Add me to the list of people who love this idea! :>) I linked to it on my weekly roundup - thanks for sharing!

My question is - how do you keep cat fur off felt?!? We have two (that are much beloved by the almost-3-year-old) and the few felt things she has seem to grab and hang onto fur. Or perhaps you're a better housekeeper than I am - that is definitely not my strongest virtue. :>)

Natalie PlanetSmarty said...

You are SO creative. I loved the last picture - kitty seemed pretty interested in that fish too :)

Angie@treasures for tots said...

Thank you for sharing your awesome project at Thursday’s Treasures last week! Come share your crafty projects in this week’s Thursday’s Treasures too!
http://treasuresfortots.blogspot.com/2010/03/thursdays-treasures-week-13.html

silly eagle books said...

These are just gorgeous. I love the detail--I'd love to make some one day--how did you secure the washer to the fish's mouth? LOVE THIS!

Polly @ Pieces by Polly said...

These are awesome! Way cuter than the ones I made for my kids. I added a link to yours on my number alligator game post.

Jen said...

It's crazy how small this world can be sometimes! I follow your Tot School posts, and now have found your link on It's a Hodgepodge Friday. I always enjoy seeing what you are doing with your son.

Jenn @ Delicious Ambiguity said...

Thanks for linking up today!

Jenn @ Delicious Ambiguity said...

Thanks for linking up today! I've got a fishing rod from my teaching days but my laminated fish with paperclips are definitely not as cute. I'll have to put this on my to do list!

jennwa said...

Those fish are so cute. I made something similar when my kids were younger and they loved playing it.

Jenn @ Delicious Ambiguity said...

Hi Mari-Anne,
Thought you'd like to know that I've featured this project on Tot Tuesdays today. Feel free to grab my Featured button on the top left hand side of my blog :)

Sweet Little Smoothie said...

These fishies are awesome!! I just found your blog and I am hooked (hehehe) These are absolutely going on my to-do list. Thanks for the inspiration!!

Kate said...

These are wonderful. It has been added to my "to make" file, hopefully to be finished before Xander goes off to college (I am a procrastinator!). Thanks for sharing.

Heather said...

Those are beautiful! I didn't read every comment so I apologize if I am repeating, but we had work similar to that in my classroom, but the fish had letters on them (and were laminated cards) so the child would fish and say the sound, or build words. So many wonderful things you can do! I love this idea! Thank you for posting this!

mmtncrfts said...

This is wonderful! I just came over from Creative Crate so I'm so glad I found you! I'm going to start making these tonight. This weekend is opening day for fishing on the lake we live on so the kids will love the practice! Thanks for sharing. I'm now following.

Lenetta said...

I made a hybrid of this game for one of my nieces and according to the squealing phone call I got tonight, she liked it! I posted about it here. Thanks for the inspiration!

biii said...

hi
im from Hungary.
i love your blog!!! very very good!!!
thanks for the ideas!!
ildi

Michelle {Fun On a Dime} said...

I just linked this to my current post! Thanks for such a great idea!

Mika said...

This is soooo cute!! I want to make these!! (Would make a great birthday present toooo!)

Kelley said...

oh man, going through your blog is like a month of activities for my preschool and toddler! Thank you for all the great ideas!

Kelly said...

Just wanted to let you know I featured you on my blog for Craft Inspirations! I think you have some great ideas. Thank you!!

Förskoleburken said...

I LOVE these, and actually managed to make a few! Thank you for such lovely inspiration!

http://forskoleburken.blogspot.com/2010/07/raknefiskar.html

Maria

Kimara said...

These are just so darn cute. My children and I made some with stock paper and paper clips years ago but these are so lovely and will last forever. Thanks so much for sharing. I'll be linking on Facebook.

Jennifer said...

I LOVE this! And I love this even more because of the fact that I don't have to have a sewing machine to make them!! You rock!!

Sarah said...

Mari-Ann, Thanks so much for the inspiration. I posted my version of your toy here:http://createstudio.blogspot.com/2010/10/little-fisherman-toy.html

-Sarah from Create Studio

Kim said...

I just love this project. Do you have a pattern or instructions on how to make these? Most likely it's pretty self-explanatory, but I'm new to crafting and any help would be awesome.

The Monkey Boy's Mom said...

Love your blog, and wanted you to know I started one of my own and linked to your post: http://littlepunkschool.blogspot.com/2011/01/if-you-give-punk-fish.html

Kama said...

This is exactly what I was looking for...

Alexandra said...

Okay, these are adorable! Love these

Niki said...

Where would you suggest going to get the magnet for the fishing pole?

Secretari said...

I'm about to finish my fishing set (only 2 left!!) for my little miss. I'm sure she'll love them! Thanks for being so kind and for having such a contagious positive attitude. (Note: By no means I'm calling you a virus ;p)

Cate Brickell said...

Just thought I'd let you know these have been pinned on pinterest! they are fantastic, thank you for sharing!

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