This fun fishing game kept my preschooler entertained for several days and helped her work on number recognition and counting.
I think fishing games are pretty classic, right?
I used to have one of those fishing toys that spins around while the fish open and close their mouths. You then have this tiny plastic fishing rod to try to catch fish while their mouths are open.
Well, I don’t know how to make that.
But I CAN make a magnetic fishing game! And I can show you how to make one, too.
Here’s the video showing how we made and played with this magnetic fishing game. I’ll break it down for you in text below.
How to Set Up a Magnetic Fishing Game at Home
First, you’ll need the following supplies:
- construction paper
- marker
- scissors
- paper clips
- yarn or string
- tape
- magnets (see note about magnets under Make the Fishing Pole)
- sticks
Make the fish
Draw a fish shape on construction paper and cut it out. I made 14 fish.
Number the fish.
Then attach paper clips to each one.
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Make the Fishing Pole
Tie a piece of string to the end of a stick. Tape it so it’s extra secure.
Tie a magnet onto the other end of the string. Tape that, too.
TIP: Test out your magnet and see if it will actually pick up a paper clip. Some fridge magnets aren’t strong enough to do this.
We used a really strong magnet from a child-lock system we have at home.
Magnetic tiles will also work.
Magnetic wands are awesome for this fishing game!
How to Play
Since I put in so much effort into making this game (haha), I wanted to make it a big deal.
I spread a blue (OK, slate gray, we don’t have any blue sheets) bedsheet on the floor to represent a pond and to keep the kids/fish confined in one area.
I also added pillows that we pretended were rocks in the pond. This was super helpful in getting Elena to stand in one place while she was “fishing.”
Otherwise, she would’ve been running all over the place like Little Sis was.
Elena helped me scatter the fish, making sure all the numbers were facing up.
The first time through, I let her catch whatever fish she wanted.
At some point, she commandeered Lia’s fishing pole and caught double the fish.
Once she had played one time through, I had her catch the fish in order by number.
1-2-3-4, etc.
Until she had caught all the fish!
More Ways to Play
This game was so much fun for Elena to play. She was so excited to set the whole thing up and catch the fish.
I was really surprised by how many additional ways to play Elena and I came up with over the next few days.
Here’s what we did:
- Line the fish up in numerical order.
- Color the fish.
- Do an indoor scavenger hunt with the fish.
- Draw additional ocean animals, cut them out, and add them to the pond.
Will You Try Fishing for Numbers at HOme?
Leave a comment and let me know if you’ll try this magnetic fishing game at home!
Will you make your game the same as mine or do it a little differently?
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