Icebreaker Fishing (Pre-Primary)

Materials

• Tissue boxes, 1 per child
• White spray paint
• Wooden chopsticks, 1 stick per child
• Light blue craft paint, amount varies
• Coarse sea salt, amount varies
• Fish Cards V. 2 (DVD-ROM or download below)
• White cardstock, 1 sheet per child
• White iridescent chenille stems, 1 per child
• Colored chenille stems, 22/3 stems per child

Tools and Basic Supplies

• Office paper cutter
• Scissors
• Glue Sticks
• 1/4-in. hole punches
• Cotton balls or large pom poms*, 1 per child
• Wooden clothespins, 1 per child
• Crayons or markers

*Pom poms are easier to work with but also a choking hazard.

Pre-Prep

• Spray paint the tissue boxes white.
• Photocopy the Fish Cards onto white cardstock. Then cut out the two-sided fish rectangles, 8 per child.
• Cut the colored chenille stems (NOT iridescent chenille stems) into thirds (4-in. pieces). Each child will need 8 pieces.

Teaching Tie-In

Have any of you ever been fishing? How about ice fishing? In the Arctic, Inuits ice fish by cutting a hole in the ice. Then they put a fake fish on a line and lower it in the hole and jiggle it.

People in the Arctic fish a lot because fish are an important food for them.

We need to eat our food every day, too, don't we? But you know what? We need to eat another kind of food—spiritual food. The Bible is full of God's words that fill us up with God's good thoughts. When we read the Bible, it's kind of like eating good thoughts to help us live wisely. We need to be reading them every day!

Today's craft is an Icebreaker Fishing game you can play with your family as you eat meals together. Take it home and put it on your table. It will be fun to play as you fish for icebreaker questions to answer together. But use it to remind you to read the Bible, too!

Class Time Directions

• Insert the cotton ball (or pom pom) into the clothespin. Then dip the cotton ball (or pom pom) into the light blue paint and gently dab around the hole in the top of the box.
• Lightly sprinkle some sea salt onto the painted area. Then shake off any excess.
• Make a “fishing pole” with the chopstick and the iridescent chenille stem. Wrap one end of the chenille stem around one end of the chopstick. Then bend the other end of the chenille stem into a hook shape.
• Color both sides of each fish. Glue stick the insides and fold together, pressing securely. Repeat for every fish.
• Hole punch each fish at its mouth. Then take a short chenille piece, pass it through the hole and wrap the ends together, making a loop. Repeat for every fish.
• Place the fish inside the box, and you’re ready to fish!

Tip Corner