Lil Fishy

Some time ago, the lovely Gail (of Stitch n Frog) sent me a link to Amelia Beebe's free "Lil Fishy" pattern. Gail had been making technicolor counting fish and instantly thought of my Little Miss for this fun (and educational) way to use up scraps.

I loved the pattern, but unfortunately, it sat on my back burner for quite some time... until the perfect use for a couple dozen Lil Fishies landed right in front of my nose.

I haven't said much about this out here on the interwebs, but my daughter was diagnosed with autism earlier this year. After a long search (and lots of soul searching to boot), the hubs and I decided to enroll her in a school specifically designed for children with autism and developmental disabilities.

The school aquarium and fishy friends

A couple weeks ago, the school received generous donations to set up a fish tank. I watched the kids' growing excitment over the tank each day when dropped my daughter off for school -- and then I had an inspiration...

Unlike her typical peers, my daughter is often unable to recall and relate details about her day. We've developed a system of visuals and prompts to help her and we continue to work on this skill. Unfortunately, I know that many of the parents with children at my daughter's school are in the same boat. So, I decided to create my own prompts to help the kids tell their parents about the school's new pets.


The day after the school's four new fish were welcomed to their new tank, one of these went home with each and every child enrolled at the school:

The school's seretary had typed up a note telling parents about the new fish tank and offering suggestions that would help parents prompt their kids to talk about the new aquarium. If the little fish made a difference for one child, then making them all was worth it.

A special thanks goes out to Gail for turning me on to the pattern and a super special thanks to the designer, Amelia Beebe!