My preschoolers adore the Five Little Fishies song. We started out singing it last August during our ocean theme, and we just keep on singing it, because my preschoolers adore it. So with summer approaching, I thought it appropriate to add a counting printable to the fun.
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About the Five Little Fishies Song
Now, there are several versions of this song available, and we’ve tried a few of them in preschool. But, our all time favorite, hands-down, is this one we found on YouTube. Not only does it have great musicians (who are completely non-obnoxious like other kids singers can be), but they also offer super fun hand motions. I like to play this on my phone which I connect to this bluetooth speaker (we have the green one) so everyone can hear easily. We sing along and I lead the children in the same actions as on the video.
This set-up makes this song perfect for circle time!
And the five little fishies printable, which is free, is perfect for math time, and makes such a great activity for teaching counting.
The Five Little Fishies Song and Counting Printable
By now, all my preschoolers know this song by heart. No other song we sing is met with the same enthusiasm, and so I was confident that this printable would go over well, too. Especially since it involved fish crackers (or fish candies, or fish counters).
You can get this printable at the end of this post, by the way. 🙂
So, I offered my preschoolers a set of the counting cards. We reviewed the number on each card before I set them free to sing the song and use the counting mats.
My daughter began by placing a fish cracker on each fish printed on the mat. “Three!” she called out, and then she sang the song to herself.
When she got to the best part, the part of the song where the shark sneaks up on the fishies, she grabbed up a fish cracker and yelled, “Snap!” as she dropped it into her mouth.
And the fun continued until there were no little fishies left.
A note on that…in the song version I recommend, the five little fishies suddenly reappear and they all snap at the shark. But since that version didn’t work with teaching my preschoolers the concept of zero, I tweaked the ending just a bit to reflect my teaching purposes.
Get Your Five Little Fishies Song and Free Printable
Think this is a song and counting activity you need in your ocean preschool theme? You can download a copy here.
Looking for More Ocean Themed Activities?
I’ve paired up with some of the best kid bloggers to bring you some pretty darn amazing ocean themed activities. I hope you enjoy them as much as I will!
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:
(NOT SHOWN) Ocean Size Sort: Small, Medium and Large // Liz’s Early Learning Spot
Odd and Even Number Fishing // Adventures of Adam
Ocean Animal Beginning Sound Clip Cards // The Letters of Literacy
Ocean Counting Mats // Mom Inspired Life
Ocean Felt Busy Box // Teach Me Mommy
Free Ocean Flip Books for All Ages // Simple Learning Kids
Shark Roll and Cover Game // Playdough to Plato
Octonauts Hermit Reef Oil Spill // Tuff Spot Play
Write and Wipe Addition Cards // The STEM Laboratory
DIY Ocean Counting Clip Cards // Life Over Cs
Color Word Clip Cards // The Simplified Classroom
Ocean Sensory Bottle // The Pleasantest Thing
Subitising Fish Game // Fairy Poppins
Salt Water Experiment | Ocean Science for Kids // Science Kiddo
Diving Fish Science Experiment // Schooling a Monkey
Ocean Animal Count and Clip Cards // The Kindergarten Connection
Five Little Fishies Song and Counting Printables // Stay at Home Educator
Ocean I Spy Printable // Powerful Mothering
Color Matching Fish Puzzles // Modern Preschool
Ocean Sensory Bin // Play & Learn Everyday
I’m Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home-mama of five! I’m the owner and creator of Stay At Home Educator, a website about intentional teaching and purposeful learning in the early childhood years. I’ve taught a range of levels, from preschool to college and a little bit of everything in between. Right now my focus is teaching my children and running a preschool from my home. Credentials include: Bachelors in Art, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction.
I absolutely love this printable. Some of children’s favorite things are music and food and this incorporates both!
I am a preschool teachers but I also work with primary school children with a learning difficulty ,
Just stumbled on your post when searching for fish printable. Thanks for sharing.
Do you have ideas for invitations to play for 2’s and 3’s?
Hi Pat,
Did you email me about this? I am working on a post for invitations to play that are toddler safe. Until then, you might be able to find some ideas form this post.
https://stayathomeeducator.com/20-playdough-invitations-to-play/