Fish Circle Time Color Matching Activity

Inside: Put together a fish circle time color matching activity for toddlers and young preschoolers!

Young children love being part of circle time.

Sitting and just listening to you?

Not so much.

Actually participating in the activity?

Yes, please!

I saw a huge change when I started inviting my two and three year olds to be part whatever we were doing.

This might be holding props, or matching something on the magnetic board, or acting out a simple story.

A few examples:

• Flower Matching
• Counting Bunnies
• Singing Five Little Ducks with Props
• Pumpkin Matching
• There’s a Spider on the Floor Activity

Each one of those activities gets the children off the floor and participating, and that is what makes them successful.

For the fish circle time color matching activity, I used plastic fish and sorting bowls.

The children had fun while building not only color recognition skills, but also counting!

Fish Circle Time Color Matching Activity

Watch the Video

Supplies

• Plastic fish
• Sorting bowls that match the fish

The particular fish that I used are no longer available, but there are others you can use, such as these colorful fish. You will then want to go through your sorting bowls and pick out the matching colors.

I also read the book Hello, Little Fish before the activity.

Set Up

After all the children have sat down for circle time, place the bowls in a row in the middle of your circle time area.

The Activity

Introduce Each Color

Have one fish of each color and as you hold each one up, invite the children to tell you what color it is.

Ask the children which bowl would the fish go in?

Tell the children that now it’s their turn to match the fish.

Pass Out the Fish

Now it’s time to pass out the fish.

Give each child one fish to hold.

Sort the Fish by Color

Call on each child, one at a time.

Ask them what color their fish is and to place it in the matching bowl.

Have each child do this.

Count the Fish

Now is when you can also add some counting!

Count how many fish are in each bowl.

This activity works best when there are some different amounts in each bowl, or at least a few of them.

More Ocean Activities

Add these other ocean activities:

• Group Fish Art
• Colorful Jellyfish Art
• Spool Stamped Fish