Craft Time, Tempera Painted Rainbow Fish

Yesterday you read the Rainbow Fish, by Marcus Pfister. A fun craft to make, and one that complement this story, is a rainbow fish created from a paper plate,then painted with tempera paints.



Directions:

1. Take a paper plate and cut the border or edge (usually about a 1-inch border around the plate) off of the plate.
2. This edge is for the fins. Cut this edge into two pieces -make one fin longer than the other.
3. Take the paper plate and cut out a pie shaped piece (about 1-inch wide) to create the mouth of the fish.
4. Paint the plate and the fins with tempera paints. Have students mix colors to create the aqua greens and sky blues in the Rainbow Fish. This paint is creamy and hides mistakes easily.
5. Let painted pieces dry then have students paint a black dot for the eye. Let dry, then glue fins to plate.

This rainbow fish projects turn out beautifully because tempera paint is bright and bold and easily mixes – so new colors are created easily.