Now that summer is here, kids are looking for fun things to do. This fish paper bag puppet craft is a great summer activity!
Not only will kids have fun with this craft, but it will also help them develop their creativity and fine motor skills while they play with the puppets they make.
This kids’ craft has a free printable template for kids as well. The final product is a cute fish paper bag puppet toy that kids can use to pretend play or display as an art piece in their room.
This easy-to-follow tutorial includes detailed step-by-step instructions and photos for each stage of completion so even children can make this project!
This craft is great as an ocean-themed unit or just something fun in general. Give this craft a try and let us know what you think about it in the comments below!
Also, be sure to check out all of our paper bag puppets for even more ideas.
Fish Puppet Craft

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Supplies
- Brown paper bag
- Colored cardstock or construction paper
- Scissors
- Glue
- Fish template (enter your email in the form at the end of this post to have the link sent to you)
Directions
Download the fish template, print, and cut out the pieces you need.

Optional: To have a colorful background, glue blue paper onto the flap and main portion of the brown paper bag.

Create the fish’s head by gluing the face to the end of the head.

Place the eye above the mouth and glue it in place.

Take the smaller top and bottom fin and secure them with glue on the fish’s head.

Next, create the body by gluing the tail fin to the back of the fish’s body.

Glue the main top and bottom fin to the body piece, then glue the side fin in the middle of the body.


Turn the paper bag sideways, with the flap portion on the left, and glue the body on the main piece, just below the flap.

Finish by aligning the head to the body and glue it to the flap portion of the paper bag.

Your kids can go wild creating an entire school of fish!

Ocean Unit For Kids
Create an entire ocean-themed unit around this fish puppet with our ideas below!
We love borrowing books from the library or buying some to add to our home collection. Reading is a great way to introduce a new unit and as you know, has tremendous benefits! Below are some of the top-rated ocean books for kids!
The Snail and the Whale– Julia Donaldson, author of the famous book The Gruffalo, brings kids another fun book about an unlikely set of friends. Snail and Whale have lots of fun together in this colorful book!
Shark Lady– This children’s book is based upon the true story of Eugenie Clark, aka, The Shark Lady. Learn about her love of sharks, her discoveries, and the inspiring message of going after what you want in life.
The Rainbow Fish -This is a classic children’s book with a wonderful message for children. In it, a fish learns to share his favorite possession, his glittery scales, with his friends!

Crafting can be a fun and rewarding pastime. It promotes creativity, enhances problem-solving skills, builds self-esteem, and boosts the confidence of kids in general. Add in some more craft time during your unit studies!
Below are some of our favorite ocean animal crafts:
No need to spend hours looking through Pinterest, we’re sharing these ocean printable preschool worksheets. These educational activities will have your kids learning while they have fun!

These ocean pattern block mats are a fun way to learn about shapes and colors. They’re also great for fine motor skills!
Work on number recognition and improve fine motor skills at the same time with these ocean color by number printables. This set includes 8 unique pages with cute ocean animals.
It’s true, we can’t all live near an ocean. But that doesn’t mean our kids don’t need to learn about how things work underwater too! This ocean play dough kit is a fun and easy way for your little ones to explore ocean animals while having some sensory fun as well.
For another sensory option, try out this ocean sensory bin. This is great for open-ended play or just exploring with their senses.
Share With Us
Did you make this activity with your kids or students? We’d love to feature them on our social media!
For a chance to have your child’s project featured, simply snap a picture of the completed project and post it to our Facebook page, email it to us directly by clicking here, or use #simpleeverydaymom on your social media!
More Ocean Activities

Fish Paper Bag Puppet Craft
Need a fun craft for ocean animal unit studies? This fish paper bag puppet craft is perfect and comes with a free printable template!
Materials
- Brown paper bag
- Colored cardstock or construction paper
- Scissors
- Glue
- Fish template
Instructions
- Download the fish template, print, and cut out the pieces you need.
- Optional: To have a colorful background, glue blue paper onto the flap and main portion of the brown paper bag.
- Create the fish's head by gluing the face to the end of the head.
- Place the eye above the mouth and glue it in place.
- Take the smaller top and bottom fin and secure them with glue on the fish's head.
- Next, create the body by gluing the tail fin to the back of the fish's body.
- Glue the main top and bottom fin to the body piece, then glue the side fin in the middle of the body.
- Turn the paper bag sideways, with the flap portion on the left, and glue the body on the main piece, just below the flap.
- Finish by aligning the head to the body and glue it to the flap portion of the paper bag.
Free Fish Template

Sam is the crafter and founder of Simple Everyday Mom. She has been featured in Oprah Mag, Good Housekeeping, The Spruce Crafts, Country Living, The Bump and more. Read more.
Nicole
Monday 10th of June 2024
My students would love this!
Sam
Monday 10th of June 2024
Since you’re already an email subscriber, all you need to do is enter your email in the form at the end of any post and it’ll automatically redirect you to the download page ◡̈
Elsa
Friday 7th of June 2024
I would like the free template
Sam
Monday 10th of June 2024
Since you’re already an email subscriber, all you need to do is enter your email in the form at the end of any post and it’ll automatically redirect you to the download page ◡̈
Halah
Saturday 18th of May 2024
The kids in Junior Kindergarten love puppet crafts!
Sam
Monday 20th of May 2024
Oh, great! We have SO many if you need more ideas!
Denise Creech
Wednesday 19th of July 2023
Very nice. Super cute. Love it. Vacation Bible school. Colorful. Easy
Sam
Wednesday 19th of July 2023
Thanks. Glad you can use it!
jill pearson
Saturday 17th of June 2023
how do I download the template
Sam
Monday 19th of June 2023
Since you’re already an email subscriber, all you need to do is enter your email in the form at the end of any post and it’ll automatically redirect you to the download page 🙂