Anywho, this project here is one that I actually did with a 4 year old I was babysitting. The project consists of paper mache and painting. It was a 2 day project, but she enjoyed every second of it! It is a great practice for reading, art, shapes, colors, etc...
Warning*** This CAN and WILL get messy so prepare for that! :)
So as a background to the project, I went over different colors of the rainbow with my little one and then we read the book Rainbow Fish. I actually went on YouTube and found an animated read along for it, I think it kept her attention a bit more since it was more like a movie.
So here's what you'll need:
1 balloon for each fish you're going to make
various colored paint (try keeping it bright to coordinate with rainbows)
construction paper (any color)
paintbrushes
container for the paint (I used an ice cube tray)
glitter
liquid glue (at least 4 bottles)
safety scissors
newspaper
a big bowl
saran wrap/wax paper/aluminum foil
Paper Mache:
1) First things first, you need to blow up the ballon. (yourself, not with helium)
2) Pour 2 complete bottles of liquid glue into the big bowl
3) Pour water inside
---measuring it: online I found various measurements. Some say 2 parts water for every 1 part glue, others say the other way around. I chose to do 2 bottles of glue and 1& 1/2 bottles of water worked just great
4) Rip up the newspaper into small strips or pieces.
5) Messy part: dip the strips into the glue/water mix
6) Take the gooey pieces and stick them on to anywhere on the ballon and try to smooth it out as much as possible.
7) Once it's COMPLETELY covered in ooey gooey paper, set it on the saran wrap/wax paper/aluminum foil and let it dry over night. You might have to turn it over in the morning so the part that was down has a chance to dry completely.
Painting the fish:
1) Put different colors into different parts of the paint holder you're using (I found the ice cube tray to be very helpful with this part)
2) Everyone go crazy painting! Make that fish super colorful!
Rainbow scales:
1) Help the kids cut different sized circles out of the construction paper
2) Cover each circle in glue and then in glitter...doesn't really matter what colors you decide to use
3) Once they dry, stick them on to different parts of the fish.
Finishing touches:
1)Paint on a face or use different materials to glue on (foam sheets, construction paper, stickers, etc.)
2) Don't forget the fins!
3)And there you have your Rainbow Fish!
The makings of our fish....waiting for the newspaper to dry
Paint is on, now we wait for that to dry....
She decided to go with kissy lips.Credit: The credit for this idea is a mix of a bunch of projects I found online!
To all, please enjoy! :)
