Understanding Interconnectedness
Ages 6 to 12
Swimmy
by Leo Leonni
Swimmy is about adapting to new situations and learning to work together. Through this story, children will learn about dealing with loss, loneliness, and fear as well as the importance of critical thinking and teamwork as they follow little Swimmy on his undersea adventures!
Understanding Interconnectedness
Age 6 - 12 Years
Book Reading Video
Discuss the story together:
After reading the book all the way through, turn back to the beginning, re-visiting the pages and asking the following questions to start a discussion with your child/children.
- How does Swimmy get over the death of his family? What motivated him to get back out and explore?
- Why does Swimmy think it’s important for the new red fish to get out and see the world?
- How does Swimmy solve the problem of big fish trying to eat him?
- What is the value of teamwork? Why is it important to work as a team?
- Why did the big fish eat Swimmy’s family? (he was “very hungry”)
- How do you think Swimmy feels about the big fish? Do you think he would be angry? Sad? Etc.?
- What do you think Swimmy and the other small fish eat when they get hungry?
- What are some of the interesting things Swimmy meets in the ocean along the way? Have you ever seen anything like this in your life?
- Why is it scary to be alone? Why does being alone sometimes make us sad? Does Swimmy need other fish to be happy? Why? (He is happy on his own, but also happier with the school).
- Why do you think Swimmy eventually went back out into the ocean after his family died? We think: He felt he had to. He had nothing else left behind, so he went out to find a new life. It also probably helped him process all of the pain of losing his family.
- If you were Swimmy, and your family got eaten, what would you do? How would you feel?
- Together with his friends, Swimmy works to be bigger than the big, scary tuna. But, does that mean they are definitely safe? Are Tuna the biggest fish in the ocean? What about sharks? Are there other types of big predators in the ocean? What about dolphins? What do dolphins eat?
- Even if there are bigger fish, do you think Swimmy and his friends should take the risk?
- How does being clever make things better for Swimmy? What are the benefits of being smart, and being able to think quickly?
- Why is it important to think critically about the world around you? Compare Swimmy to the other fish, who only ever think about fear of bigger fish. We think: Thinking critically helps you act in the best way for any situation. Living in fear, on the other hand, teaches you to act a certain way, no matter the situation. Swimmy, who was not afraid, was able to come up with an idea, which the other fish never could have, because fear does not give you new ideas like thinking does.
- How did knowing about all the other things in the ocean motivate Swimmy to come up with a solution for the other fish? Why did that make him not want to sit behind a rock, like all the red fish?
Let's get Creative
Step 1
For this activity, you will need corrugated cardboard (cardboard packing box), pencils, a marker, a pair of scissors, a big piece of paper, paint and a paintbrush.
Step 2
Using your marker, draw the shape of your favourite fish onto your big piece of paper so that it reaches all of the sides.
Step 3
Next, draw a smaller version of the same fish onto your piece of cardboard.
Step 4
Carefully use the scissors to cut out the shape of your smaller fish from the cardboard.
Step 5
Slowly and carefully pull the two layers of the fish shaped cardboard apart.
Step 6
Lightly paint the corrugated side of your fish with your favourite colour. Try not to fill the corrugated side with too much paint as the stamp may not appear well.
Step 7
While the paint is still wet, stamp your painted fish inside the outline of the big fish that you drew on your piece of paper. Use the stamp again and again, by adding more paint each time you stamp. Create different patterns and designs using your stamp.
Before you begin this activity, assist the children in finding a variety of shapes in leaves, shells and any other interestingly textured items from the natural environment.
Step 1
You will need these to create the texture painting. For this activity you will also need different coloured paints, a paint brush and a few pieces of A4 paper.
Step 2
Take a piece of paper and fold the same piece of paper continuously in neat, equal halves, three times. Flatten the folds down to create imprints of your fold lines onto the page.
Step 3
Unfold the piece of paper so that you can see the full page with the fold lines you have created.
Step 4
Use the items gathered from the environment and lightly dip them into the paint. Make sure that you dip the items just enough to get a little bit of paint on one side. Stamp the item down on some scrap paper first to remove excess paint.
Step 5
Press down the item into one of the blocks on your piece of paper so that it leaves an imprint of the textures of your item.
Step 6
Continue pressing down your items with different colours until you have filled every block on your page.
Repeat the activity on a new piece of paper to make as many texture paintings as you like!
Step 1
For this activity you will need different coloured paints, a paintbrush, glue, a piece of paper, a pair of scissors, a marker and a toilet roll inner.
Step 2
Choose your favourite colour to paint the toilet roll.
Step 3
Be creative with your anemone and paint some extra patterns.
Step 4
Leave the paint on your anemone to dry. Draw two eyes on your piece of paper and carefully cut them out. Use the glue to stick the eyes onto the painted toilet roll.
Step 5
Carefully use the scissors to cut 4-5 centimeter long strips into the bottom of the painted toilet roll. These are the tentacles of your new pet anemone friend!
Step 1
You will need a paper plate, three pieces of white paper, one piece of colour cardboard, paint, a paintbrush, a pair of scissors, a marker, a pencil, eraser and glue.
Step 2
On the paper plate, use your marker to draw the shape of a fish bowl or fish jar, paint it blue like the sea. When it is dry, cut it out.
Step 3
On one of your pieces of paper, use a marker to draw an outline of your hand.
Step 4
Paint the outline from step 3 with different bright designs as if it is your favourite fish. Remember to give your fish an eye and a mouth using your marker. Leave it to dry. Carefully cut out the fish.
Step 5
Paint another piece of paper the colour green. Leave the page to dry. Next, use the scissors to cut out the shape of tall sea grass. Make sure that your grass is not going to be bigger than the size of your fish jar.
Step 6
Carefully paste the fish and the green sea grass into your blue fish jar so that it looks like the fish and the grass are now inside. Weave the fish and the grass to make it look like the fish is hidden in between the sea grass. Paste the completed fish jar onto the colour cardboard, present and display it for your family and friends!
Ahead of this activity, you will need to collect miscellaneous items from the environment that can be used to create an underwater scene (for example some sand, small shells, dried plants, sticks or seaweed).
Step 1
For this activity, you will also need an A3 piece of cardboard, different coloured paints, a paintbrush, a marker, a pencil, an eraser, glue, three pieces of paper as well as the items you collected from the environment.
Step 2
Use the cardboard to create the background and characters of your Swimmy Drama. First, paint the background of your Swimmy Drama blue, the colour of the sea, and then leave it to dry.
Step 3
Next, you will need to design, draw and cut out the different fish as they are in the book (a big black fish, a big red fish and a small black fish). Paint the different fish and then leave them to dry.
Step 4
Go back to your blue ocean backdrop and decide how you would like to arrange your Swimmy Drama under water scene. Use the glue to stick on the sand, shells and plants in a design that you like. Leave your work to dry and remember to carefully dust off any excess sand that you do not want on your Swimmy Drama.
Step 5
You can now draw or paint any extra small fish that you would like as part of your background. Prop up your Swimmy Drama background and use your fish characters to re-enact your favourite parts of the book for your family and friends.