Keep reading for some fun preschool activities based on The Pout-Pout Fish in the Big-Big Dark (or any Pout-Pout Fish book) by Deborah Diesen. These activities are part of our Storytime Club, which includes activities inspired by 12 books to keep your little one learning ALL year long! To learn more about our Storytime Club, click here!
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POUT POUT FISH ACTIVITIES
The Pout-Pout Fish is such a fun series written by Deborah Diesen! We loved the original when we first read it many years ago, but we also love all of the other Pout-Pout Fish books that have come out since then. Preschoolers love Mr. Fish!
The Pout-Pout Fish in the Big Big Dark is about Mr. Fish finding his courage to face the dark. After Ms. Clam lost her pearl, Mr. Fish promises that he’ll find it for her. But little did he know the pearl was down in the darkest part of the ocean. With a little help from Miss Shimmer, Mr. Fish is able to face his fears and find the pearl.
If your little one is scared of the dark, this is the perfect book for them! It shows them how to face their fears, and it also has a great message about friends helping each other out. I also love that it rhymes, which makes it a great read-aloud option.
Click on the picture below to learn more about this sweet book!
Check out these fun activities to bring this story to life for your preschool, pre-k, or kindergarten littles. These are great to use at home with your own kiddos or in your early childhood classroom. If you’re interested, all the printables can be found here.
Click here to check out the song I sing before reading this book!
LITERACY: OCEAN COMPOUND WORDS
This is a great activity for your preschooler to build phonological awareness skills as well as see how words go together to form new words. It’s great for little ones to play with language as often as possible.
Have your preschooler match the ocean animal cards together. Then have them look at the small pictures, such as the “jelly” and “fish” on the whale. Have them figure out the compound word, “jellyfish” and mark it off their check-off sheet.
MATH: FISHBOWL COUNTING
When teaching our little ones to recognize numbers, it’s important for them to know there are multiple ways to show the same number. For example, they might see the numeral “1,” but they might also see 1 tally mark, 1 picture, a hand showing 1 finger, 1 dot on a dice, or 1 circle colored in a ten frame. We want them to understand that each of these representations is showing the exact same amount.
For this activity, preschoolers will choose a card and add the correct number of goldfish crackers to the fishbowl. I’ve included 6 ways to show each number (1-10), and I’ve also included goldfish clip art pictures in case you don’t have goldfish crackers to use for this activity.
FINE MOTOR: FISHING IN JELLO
This fine motor activity is perfect to go along with any Pout Pout Fish book, or you could also incorporate into your ocean theme! Using food is always a hit with my little ones, and adding in tweezers or tongs works those small muscles in the fingers, wrists, and hands.
Make a package of blue jello by following the instructions on the package. Then add in some Swedish fish before you put it in the refrigerator to set. Once it’s set, have your little one use tweezers or tongs to get the fish out.
GROSS MOTOR: FLASHLIGHT EXERCISING
Have you used flashlights with your little one before? It’s so much fun! Adding novelty items when practicing basic skills can really increase the engagement level of our preschoolers.
For this specific flashlight activity, you’ll assign an exercise or gross motor movement (like galloping or hopping) to each number on a dice. Your little one with use their flashlight to light up a number, then do the exercise that corresponds to that number. It’s a fun way to get them up and moving AND practicing numbers at the same time.
CRAFT: PIPE CLEANER FISH AND PUFFY PAINT OCEAN
This ocean-themed craft turned out super cute! You could use this with Pout Pout Fish or any ocean book you have. You’ll print out the background and paint the ocean with puffy paint (shaving cream + white glue), then add pipe cleaner fish.
SNACK: FISH BOWL CRACKERS
How cute is this snack?! It would go perfectly with the Fishbowl Counting math activity from this pack! Your little one will spread blue frosting onto a snack cracker, and then add goldfish crackers on top.
READING RESPONSE: JOURNAL WRITING & BOOKMARK
To wrap up this unit, you can have your little one write and draw about their favorite part of Pout-Pout Fish in the Big-Big Dark. I’ve also included a bookmark that your little one can keep forever to remember this story and the main message: Be brave and show courage!
POUT POUT FISH ACTIVITY PACK
All of the activities in this post can be found in my Pout Pout Fish Activity Pack, which can be found in my shop here!
Have you read Pout-Pout Fish in the Big-Big Dark yet? Do you have any fun activities that would be great to add to our list? Comment below or find me on Instagram [@littleslovelearningblog] and let me know!
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To check out more book-inspired activities, head over to our Storytime Club!
Happy Learning!
