Don’t you love it when fun leads to learning? My latest experience with this has come in the form of fish toys. Did I start off the school year with this in our lesson plans? Eh, not really, but when the kiddos want to know more, I’m happy to oblige.
(I received this product for review for free and was compensated for my time.
All opinions are honest and I was not required to write a positive review.
This post contains affiliate links; see disclosure for details.)
Don’t get me wrong, these fish toys are loads of fun, but the coolest thing about them is that they’ve naturally inspired my little one to learn more about ocean life. And that, my friend, makes this homeschool mom extremely happy!
Using Fish Toys for Early Learning
I immediately had my four year-old in mind when I first learned about Lil’ Fishys. She loves pets of every kind, but a dog and a cat is all I can handle these days. The thought of motorized water pets had never crossed my mind, but it’s genius! These battery-powered creatures are tons of fun and require no legitimate effort keep! They all swim around, but some even spray water and light up. Can you imagine how much fun these would be swimming with your kids in a pool?
We started with the Lucky Aquarium Playset and several of the motorized fish. My little one has had a blast playing with them all, but Lucky and the whales are her favorites. Next on our wishlist are the Jelly Fishys. She plans to add them to our collection soon!
If your kids are anything like mine, they’re still thinking about playtime long after the toys are put away. That usually means that the playtime inspiration carries on in our conversations and other activities. Then we end up pulling out books and watching TV shows or movies to help us learn more.
Playtime with these fish toys has been the same way! They’ve inspired me to incorporate sea life into reading time, art time, and look for more ways to continue the learning.
Since our time exploring sea life with Lil’ Fishys, some of our favorite fishy books like Swimmy and Rainbow Fish have made repeated appearances in our reading time. Big Brother has also helped out with origami sea life projects and we’ve done a preschool-friendly ocean unit study.
All of this was because playtime with our fish toys inspired more fun and learning. For me, it was nothing more than following my daughter’s cues and feeding her curiosity. The best part is that we’ve both had fun and learned along the way!
You may have noticed us having fun with our fish toys if you follow along on Instagram, but you can see all of the Lil’ Fishys in action by checking out the videos at the Lil’ Fishys website. You can also find more information about the characters and habitats and download matching coloring pages. How fun is that?!?
More Fun with Fish Toys
* Lil’ Fishys Giveaway *
You can find Lil’ Fishys on Amazon and in person at national retailers, but you can also take advantage of this sweet giveaway and enter to win some for yourself!
Get Social with Lil’ Fishys
Looking for more ideas on how to use fish toys with your kiddos? Follow Lil’ Fishys and enjoy all kinds of fun in your social feeds!
- Lil’ Fishys on Facebook
- @LilFishys on Twitter
- @LilFishys on Instagram
Have you heard about the fishy fun happening on Instagram? All you need to do is post photos using the daily themes for inspiration, mention @lilfishys, and include #ihsnet #summer in your caption. You can see all of the daily themes and other details by visiting the Lil’ Fishys Instagram Challenge page. What an easy and fun way to be entered to win some fish toys of your own!
The Lil’ Fishys fun isn’t limited to Instagram though! Twitter’s the place to be on Thursday, May 26 for iHomeschool Network’s Summer Fun Twitter Party. These parties aren’t just tons of fun — they’re also a great way to connect with other homeschool families and win some great prizes. All you have to do is show up and tweet along!
Your turn now: what toys have inspired learning for your kiddos? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
