Fishing for Letters

Make this fishing craft with your child and use it as an exciting way to practice the alphabet and develop early decoding and reading skills.

Materials Needed

  • Fishing container (ice cream tub
    or box)
  • Acrylic paint
  • Paint brush
  • Palette
  • Construction paper
  • Markers
  • Drinking straw or wooden dowel
  • Small magnet
  • Paper clips
  • Scissors
  • String
  • Scotch tape

Fishing for Letters

Safety Guidelines

  • Always let your child use child-safe scissors.
  • Keep the craft knife out of children's reach.
  • Watch out for this sign Ask for an adult's help. It means you need an adult's help for the particular step.

Steps

Step 1 Fishing for Letters 1. Find a suitable fishing container. An ice cream tub, tissue box, paper bowl with cover, or similar container can be used.
Step 2 Fishing for Letters Ask for an adult's help2. Make a hole at least 2 inches in diameter at the center of the container's lid.
Step 3 Fishing for Letters 3. Paint your fishing container with your chosen color of acrylic paint. To keep with the fishing theme, you can paint your container blue.
Step 4 Fishing for Letters 4. Paint on some fishes and other aquatic creatures. You may also use fish cut-outs or stickers.
Step 5 Fishing for Letters 5. Prepare the alphabet letters by cutting out 1 in. x 1 in. squares from construction paper and writing a letter on each square.

We also have an alphabet template that you can print out and cut.
Step 6 Fishing for Letters 6. Attach a paper clip to each letter square.
Step 7 Fishing for Letters 7. Drop the letter squares into the fishing container.
Step 8 Fishing for Letters 8. Cut string to approximately 1 ½ to 2 feet in length. Tape one end of the string to a small magnet.
Step 9 Fishing for Letters 9. Tie the other end of the string to the end of a drinking straw or wooden dowel.
Step 10 Fishing for Letters 10. Use the fishing rod to "fish" for alphabet letters. Can you identify each letter that you catch?
Step 11 Fishing for Letters 11. You can also do a spelling game. Fish for a few letters and spell something from the letters you just caught.