Guest Author - Diane Claus

I created this game to help an active child learn to discriminate between shapes. The basics of the game are easy to grasp and can be easily changed to work on different skills and different levels. Since we were learning about shapes I cut out 9 fish from paper and drew one of the three shapes we were focusing on, on one side. I made the shapes large and the same color. I picked an action and put it on the other side. I laminated the fish and put a metal paper clip on the front of the fish. To make the fishing pole I tied a piece of fishing line from a stick that was long enough to provide some challenge but not too long to make handling it difficult. At the end of the pine I attached a magnet to “catch” the fish.

Here are the shapes and actions I used:

Circle -Jump
Circle -Reach
Circle -Turn around

Square -Jump
Square -Reach
Square -Turn around

Triangle -Jump
Triangle -Reach
Triangle -Turn around

I put the fish shape side up because it was not meant to be a memory game but a matching game. The object is for the child to catch the fish using only the fishing pole. They do the action on the other side and keep the fish. When they either have one of each shape or two matching, depending on the child, the game is over and can be played again.

You will need:
-Paper
-Contact Paper
-Clear Contact Paper
-Paper Clips
-Stick
-Fishing Line
-Magnet
-Fish Template

Some of the actions I have used in the past are:
Jump
Log Roll
Turn Around
High-five
Bunny Hop
Reach (touch the sky) or
Reach (touch your toes)
Wiggle
Dance

If you do not want to build skills try cutting small fish out of different colored construction paper and gluing the picture to one side before covering with contact paper. Take a file folder draw an outline of the fish and have the kids take turns fishing and every one can do the action. After everyone has done the action attach the small fish with Velcro. This is a great way to burn off extra energy.