Within this post you will find the videos that I use for demonstration - feel free to use! I will never place ads in the videos that I create. You will probably also notice that there is no sound - I like to teach "live" with my videos so I mute them when editing.
This past week my kinder's enjoyed making these cute little fish collages made of hearts. We focused on skill-building and following directions, so the results are all very similar, but we learned a lot and I feel that projects like these are great for practice and confidence-building! Of course there is a lot to say about symmetry, but I also appreciate the fine motor practice this lesson offers with all the tracing, cutting, and gluing it involves.
I am actually in the middle of a unit with my kinders where we are learning how to spell the color words - this week was R-E-D, red! I use the following song as part of my anticipatory set (not my video - does contain ads):
We then begin creating the fish body and tail step-by-step together:
I start by handing them a 9"x6" red piece of construction paper that I have pre-folded (I just fold a big stack at once to get them going) as well as the 1/2 heart stencils. I am very clear that they are not to begin tracing until I have checked their stencils to make sure they are on the FOLD side of the paper (the crease). Once I give them a "thumb's up," they can trace the OUTSIDE of the 1/2 heart (not the red line, I tell them).
They then return the stencils to me (as I double-check their tracing) and we go over the steps for cutting (many will want to only cut 1/2 the paper).
Once they finish cutting, they dispose of their scraps and join me at the carpet area for a story. My Heart Is Like a Zoo by Michael Hall is the perfect accompaniment to this lesson (you can probably also find read-alouds on YouTube)! After the story and a quick review of the R-E-D song, we go over the remaining directions:
The fish body and tail are glued to a 9"x12" piece of construction paper (I chose purple). In order for it to really have that fish shape, we talk about how the points on the hearts have to face the same direction. We also talk about how it needs to be glued lower on the paper so that there is room for the bubbles. The lips are made from a heart traced onto a 3"x3" pink piece of construction paper and this heart needs to point the opposite direction.
Finally, using the same little heart stencil, they trace 3 heart bubbles from a 4.5"x6" teal/blue piece of paper, including a white crayon/pastel "shine" and of course - the most fun part - a giant googly eye.
Hope you and your students enjoy this sweet little lesson as much as we did!
If you would like the stencils I used, you can find a pdf here. Pro tip: print onto card stock! It saves you a lot of tracing - but you will need to add the red line and "FOLD" if you wish to have that on there.
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