The Felted Fish that lives in a Junk Tank

Last year I wanted to introduce my students to more fiber arts but am truly intimidated by the art medium because it is what I feel least knowledgeable about. I made it my goal to develop a felting project for 3rd grade. I wanted the project to be more then just a one day felting project and was hoping to take what they make with felt and turn it into something more. I also did not have a ton of wool for the students to create large pieces so I was thinking of something small they could make that could become apart of something larger. From this I got the idea of fish and the kids loved it!. They loved learning the felting process but also loved the idea of making their own fish.

This is my second year teaching this project and students had a great time giving their fish a name. This year I also tried to have them create a practice piece of felt be for we moved on to the final for them to get the processes down. I was hoping to have a day for them to also make felted beads but did not get a chance to fit that in. This project has become a school favorite and the teachers and kids love it! I was super intimidated to do this on my own let alone teach it to a bunch of 3rd graders but was surprised to discover how smooth of a process it was and how much the kids really enjoyed the process. Below I have attached the process visuals for the lesson that I put up on my project as well as had laying on the tables. I have also given you the complete lesson and a video tutorial on how to make the fish.