Get ready for a fun and colorful afternoon of crafting with your little ones. We love sharing simple activities that keep hands busy and help young minds grow.
This bright rainbow fish wand craft combines pure creativity with wonderful educational benefits. Peeling and placing dot stickers works wonders for building fine motor skills, while the vibrant choices help toddlers and preschoolers practice color recognition.
To make this project as easy as possible for parents and teachers, we included a free printable template for the fish shape. You can set this activity up in minutes. Using simple supplies like dot stickers and crepe paper means less mess and more time for actual fun.
Craft Supplies:
- White Cardstock Paper
- Blank Fish Printable – from box.com password is GLUEDTOMYCRAFTS2026
- Crayons, Markers or Coloring Pencils
- Dot Stickers
- Scissors
- Blue Crepe Paper
- Jumbo Popsicle Stick – one per wand
- Stapler or Tape
- Embellishments
UPDATE FOR 2026 – To reduce storage costs and download fees, we recently made some changes to our website. The password for all our files this year is GLUEDTOMYCRAFTS2026. Our printables are still free to you. Please see our FAQ page for more info on downloading our free files.
Directions:
- First, print the free fish template onto a sheet of white cardstock. If desired, color in the fish fins in the printable.
- Next, cut out the fish shape using your scissors. If you are working with older children, let them practice their scissor skills by cutting out the shape themselves.
- Now comes the most fun part! Give your child the sheet of multi-colored dot stickers. Have them peel and press the stickers all over the body of the fish to create scales. Encourage them to overlap the dots slightly to make it look like real fish scales. This step is incredibly easy, requires zero drying time, and provides an excellent workout for little fingers.
- Use a small dab of glue to attach the large googly eye near the front of the fish’s face.
- Cut two or three long strips of blue crepe paper. Flip your decorated fish over. Tape the ends of the crepe paper strips to the bottom edge of the fish. When your child waves their craft around, these soft crepe paper streamers will flow behind it, looking just like water ripples.
- While the fish is still face down, tape a jumbo wooden craft stick to the center of the back. Leave enough of the stick hanging down from the bottom so your child can hold it comfortably.
- Your beautiful rainbow fish wand is completely finished and ready for playtime. Kids will love running around the house or classroom making their fish “swim” through the air.
RELATED —> Crepe Paper Seashell Wand Craft Idea
If you want to keep the creative adventure going, try making a whole school of fish using different color combinations, add glitter for extra sparkle, or write each child’s name on their fish for a personalized touch. For even more fun, stage a fish puppet show, put on an underwater parade, or use your rainbow fish wands during story time for imaginative play.
We hope you and your kids enjoy making this simple, mess-free craft together. Thank you for crafting with us – your creativity and enthusiasm mean so much! Be sure to download your printable template, set out those dot stickers, and let your creativity flow. Happy crafting, my friends!
