Easy Paper Plate Fish Craft for Toddlers and Preschoolers
Learn how to make this fun Paper Plate Fish Craft, and use them to create an underwater scene on your classroom wall. Young children, like toddlers and preschoolers, will have so much fun painting their own colorful fish.
My kids love the Rainbow Fish book by Marcus Pfister. It’s one of their favorite books. If your students love it too, imagine how excited they will be when they get to make this rainbow fish craft.
Disclosure: Adult supervision is required for all activities at all times.
The Summer break can be tough on parents who aren’t used to having their kids home every day. If you’re trying to get ready for this Summer, then start with these Summer activities for kids. Or invest in the Summer Activity Pack, which is filled with educational ideas for young kids.
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More Ocean Crafts to Try
I’m always looking for summer play ideas when the schools close down. Thankfully these sea creatures (along with some other Summer themed paper plate crafts) are the perfect activity to keep little hands and minds busy over the break.
- Paper Plate Starfish Craft
- Paper Plate Turtle Craft
- Paper Plate Jellyfish Craft
- Paper Plate Seahorse Craft (with free template)
- Paper Plate Crab Craft
- ….
For more ideas, check out these 18 Sea Animal Crafts for Kids.
Materials Needed
- Paper plates
- Paint
- Toilet rolls
- Construction paper
- Black marker
- Scissors
How to Make a Paper Plate Fish Craft
1. Cut out the mouth
The first part of making this fun craft is to take your plain white plates and draw a small triangle on the side of the plate. Cut out the triangular shape and save it for the next step.
While older children can do this step themselves. Young kids may need some help with the cutting. If you teach a class of toddlers, it may be easier for you to prepare this step yourself ahead of time.
2. Stick on the tail
Take the triangle shape from the previous step and stick it to the back of the fish. I love how the extra piece from the mouth turns into the tail in this easy craft.
I used sticky tape to attach it to the side of the plate opposite to where the mouth was. Sticky tape is a great way for young kids to develop fine motor skills, and you don’t need to wait for the glue to dry.
3. Paint the fish
Let the kids pick whichever paint colors they want to decorate their fish with. Use the different colors to paint the fish body.
This simple craft doesn’t have to be all about the rainbow fish. You can also use the same idea to make tropical fish, goldfish or even a piranha.
4. Paint the scales
Fold a toilet paper roll in half, so that it makes a semi-circle shape. Dunk the end in the paint and press it onto your beautiful fish. These will be the fish scales of your fun paper plate craft.
Although I waited for the paint to dry, before doing the scales. This isn’t necessary. Instead, you can make the scales in the same sitting as the body.
5. Make the eye
You can make the eye of the fish in three different ways. You can glue on a googly eye, draw the eye onto a piece of scrap paper and cut it out. Or draw it directly onto your plate once all of the paint has dried.
No matter which way you go, this great craft will look amazing.
Different things to try
There are a lot of different ways to make a colorful paper plate fish craft. Most of which require minimal supplies. You can also try:
- Gluing tissue paper onto the plate instead of paint.
- Cutting cupcake wrappers in half and using those as the fish scales.
- Draw fins onto construction paper, and then use them to make a top fin and small fins down the bottom.
As you can see, making fish craft ideas is a wonderful, fun activity for kids to try this Summer.
Summer Activity Pack
Educational printables for preschoolers and kindergarteners for this Summer.
Are you going to make this Paper Plate Fish Craft with your kids?
Don’t forget to pin the idea for later
