Jonah and the big fish

by Willemien Kruger
(Potchefstroom, South Africa)

In this craft you will be making a big fish with paper mache which will be able to swallow Jonah (made from cardboard) in a few easy steps:

Mom should start the project by preparing glue as follows :

Mix 125ml cold water and 100ml maize/cornflour until smooth.
Add 375ml boiling water and heat on medium heat. Stir continuously until it thickens - stir until nice and smooth.
Take off heat and let it cool down.

Then involve the child with the following steps:

1. Inflate a balloon
2. Cut out 2 fins and 1 tail fin from cardboard
3. Stick it onto the balloon in the right places (fins on the sides and the tail at the back) with masking tape
4. Tear newspaper into strips
5. Glue the strips onto the balloon until it is covered completely and at least 2-3 layers thick. (This will be messy but lots of fun, and the tactile sensation is worth the mess!)
6. Let it dry (preferably overnight and not in direct sun lest the balloon burst)
7. When dry, paint the big fish any color you wish with tempera paint for brightness
8. Cut out eyes and glue on dry paint
9. Make Jonah from a piece of cardboard and if you want to, give him clothes (material strip) and a face
10. Stick the balloon with a sharp thing to blow off air (it will not burst as it would have deflated a bit already)
11. Put Jonah in the big fish mouth and let it shallow!
12. If you want to make a hole on the top to form a mobile fish