Loaded with fun and educational benefits, this origami fish is a great activity that is best fit for school aged children and above. This craft is easy, engaging, and will spark children’s imaginations and sense of joy! Additionally, origami has been shown to be a developmentally-friendly tool that promotes concentration, spatial awareness, perception skills and hand-eye coordination. With just a few paper folds, this craft leaves kids with their very own 3D fish!
Supplies:
Square piece of paper
Coloring supplies (optional)
Instructions:
Welcome! Let’s start making your origami fish! Gather all the necessary supplies and pull up a chair to a table or hard surface of your choice.
Step 1: Start by taking out a square piece of paper and lay it flat on your hard surface.
Step 2: Next, pick up the bottom right corner and fold it over so it touches the opposite corner on the top. Try your best to match up the edges as evenly as possible! Press down on the paper with your finger so it makes a nice crease. Open the paper back up—you should see one diagonal line!
Step 3: Now, pick up the bottom left corner and fold it over so it touches the opposite corner on the top. Match the edges, press down, and make the crease using your finger. Once you open the paper back up, you should see a big “X”!
Step 4: Next, flip the piece of paper over.
Step 5: For this step, our goal is to make a triangle shape. Starting with your paper open, pinch in the sides gently until it folds into a triangle. Press it down so it lays flat.
Step 6: Great job! You have probably noticed by now that the triangle has two layers—which is exactly what you want! First, take the bottom right corner (first layer) and fold it toward the center. Press down and make the crease using your finger.
Step 7: Next, take the bottom left corner (first layer) and fold it toward the center and over top of the small triangle fold you just made. Press down and make the crease using your finger. Ta-da! We now have a fish tail!
Step 8: Lastly, turn the paper over and enjoy your origami fish!
Once completed, you can draw on some eyes, a mouth, scales, and gills to make it come to life!
