Koinobori Wind Socks

May 5th is Children's Day in Japan. On this day, families raise the carp-shaped koinobori flags (carp because of the Chinese legend that a carp that swims upstream becomes a dragon, and the way the flags blow in the wind looks like they are swimming), one for each child.We also talked about symmetry when making the drawing. Fold a piece of brown craft paper in half ( our sheets were about 3 ft long). Have the students draw the carp shape, but make sure the fin is opposite of the fold. Cut it out. Open it up and draw the other half of the carp as symmetrical as possible. Color in with oil pastels. Paper punch a hole in the center of the mouth. Losely twist 2 pipe cleaners togethe and tacky glue along the mouth. Glue the rest of the fish together, but keep the mouth open by bending the pipe cleaners. String yarn through the holes and attach to a stick.