Fishing for Gold

What You'll Need:

• 1 Long (12"–15") Pipe Cleaner per Child
• Colored Tissue Paper
• A few 1"-Wide Paint Brushes (at least 1 for every 2 guests)
• A few Pairs of Safety Scissors
• Elmer's Glue (mixed 3 parts glue to 1 part water)
• 1 6"-Long Piece of Fishing Line or String per Guest
• A Coat Hanger
• 1 3'-Long Piece of Fishing Line or String
• A Strong Magnet
• A Stick or Yardstick
• A Marker
• 1 Paper Clip per Guest
• 1 Small Prize per Guest
• Funny Activities Written on Small Pieces of Paper (at least 1 for each "fisherman"), like:


• Make a fishy face.
• Fly like a seagull.
• Make noises like a seal.
• Wiggle your arms like an octopus.
• Walk like One-Legged Jack.
• Squawk and Talk like a parrot.

1. Give each child a pipe cleaner to bend into a fish shape.


2. Once the children have each made a fish, help them cut tissue paper about ½" larger than their pipe-cleaner figures.


3. Have the children lay their pipe-cleaner fish on top of their cut pieces of tissue paper, and then brush both with the diluted glue mixture.


4. Help each child carefully fold the edges of his or her paper over the pipe-cleaner frame. If needed, add more of the glue mixture so that the tissue paper sticks to the pipe cleaner.


5. Tie a 6"-long piece of string to each completed fish. Hang the fish from the coat hanger and let them dry for about 30 minutes.

1. Tie one end of the 3'-long string to the stick, and tie the other end around the magnet.


2. Next, write each child's name on his or her fish, and attach a paper clip to either the fish or their strings.


3. Put the fish in a box or behind a sofa.


4. Let each guest take a turn using the pole you made to fish in the box or behind the sofa.


5. When a child catches a fish, identify the child who made the fish and have him or her pick a funny activity from the pile. (If more than one fish is caught, throw one back.)


6. Award the children small prizes for performing their chosen activities.


7. The last person who's fish is caught is the winner because his or her fish got away the most!