Fishing

My son loves the story ‘Tiddler the Story Telling Fish’ by Julia Donaldson and therefore enjoys anything sea related. This fun and easy to set up toddler activity is based around a magnetic fishing game which I had bought on Amazon. I have just added more sea bits to create more of a scene and a problem solving element to the game.

Set Up

The magnetic fish game and the blue felt material are available on Amazon. A sheet or blanket would work well too. I added toys from the bath, the light up balls were sea urchins and the blue glass pebbles are vase decorations which I had borrowed from my sister.

I had originally added a washing basket into the middle of the ‘sea’ so we could pretend it was a boat but my little one did not want to sit in it. So I took it away. If your child is older, together you could paint a boat onto a cardboard box to make your own boat.

My son was immediately intrigued with the under the sea scene and explored all the pieces. He was unsure what to do with the fishing rods so I demonstrated and together we played. My little one was able to problem solve that some of the sea creatures were unable to be caught using his fishing rod, so he stuck to the wooden pieces which had magnets on.

This game is versatile and will teach my little one lots of playing skills as he grows; turn taking, winning points, winning, losing. It would also be a great activity to do on a play date. For younger children and babies it is also a fantastic sensory experience for them to explore.

At my son’s age it was just about us having a shared experience together. This is a great activity that can be done at home with children and toddlers.