"Frog drank the tea, and then he said, "Tell me a story while I am resting." - The Story Arnold Lobel
Frog and Toad are Friends was the first full book that my oldest child ever read aloud to me. I have such wonderful memories and pride when I think about our time spent with this book.
There are tons of ways to extend this book. I'm sure I'm only scratching the surface a little when I mention some of the activities we enjoyed.
Extend with Math:
Have your child jump like a frog and measure the distance of their jump. Older children can calculate the difference of each jump to find an average distance.
We have an algabraic funtastic frogs workbook and frog manipulative's. You can find them here. I picked these up from Mardel's and have enjoyed the many ways to use them. You can sort frogs by colors, string in patterns, categorize by size or use in conjunction with the workbook. They are loads of fun and keep little ones busy while harder work can begin with the older children.
I found a really cute Kindergarten math activity here that your child might enjoy.
I'll be mentioning some cooking activities later in the post too that I believe are great ways of making math "living". Simply discuss measurements while cooking and help them apply it to the item being made.
Extend with Science:
Sparklebox has great Tadpole/ Frog Growth Posters that are available for free download. These would be wonderful to place on your walls where you study.
Here is where I admit my silliness. We began reading Frog and Toad just after moving from Michigan suburbs to Oklahoma. I wasn't yet familiar with the enormous accessibility of frogs in my new state. I purchased a Grow a Frog Kit and had it delivered by U.P.S. The pole little tadpole must have thought I was nuts sending it across the country when all I had to do was open my back door after sunset. That being said, we loved our little frog and quickly ordered a second one to be it's companion. Grow a Frog is a very easy to maintain pet. The kit includes food, aquarium and a pet handbook. The aquarium doesn't last long as the frog grows quickly, but the second size up cost about $30 and holds two mature frogs quite comfortably. We ordered a second set of food too and haven't had to replace it in over a year. They are aquatic frogs and so the most expensive detail of their care is probably the spring water to fill their tank. Still not bad for a pet. They are supposed to be "see-thru". I might call them translucent. It's not drastic though so don't expect too much on that level.
One of their first assignments after "Skipper" and "Hoppy" arrived was to observe and sketch frog feet. I got some wonderful sketches from this that really impressed me.
Grow a frogs are pretty tiny, but the Goliath frog is not. Check out the World's largest frog here. I was amazed!
Frogland is a great site with loads of information on frogs and toads. You can learn a lot there.Study frog habit here with their great information.
Extend with Language Art:
Totally Tots did a unit study on Ponds that might be useful for little children.
I created a word wall with words from the book that my daughter stumbled over in her reading time. I wrote them out on frog shaped die cuts and taped them to their learning wall. We reviewed them for a few minutes every day until it was clear that she had mastered the word.
In the book there are stories that involve buttons, cookies, and letters. I used all of these to extend our learning.
We made cookies for our neighbors and our pastors. I thought about giving a cookie recipe, but I'll skip it and say Mr. Fields is the best. I always cool cookies on newspaper - just because it's what my Grandma does.
We created a button box that we used for counting and sorting.
We wrote letters to family back in Michigan and discussed the different parts of a letter and how to address the envelope.
I also had my daughter copy write lists that I gave her to practice her writing and to tie into The List.
Extend though Art:
You're gonna think these frog masks are adorable. Simply print and decorate.
There are tons of crafts to do involving frogs but my favorite was Kissy frogs. To create kissy frogs paint your child's lips green with non toxic finger paint and have them kiss a sheet of construction paper. The kiss is the frog's body. Now let them draw on legs with markers(at the corners of the mouth) and eyes ( on each side of the top lip's v). We even got some tiny google eyes and glued them on. This is an adorable craft. I'd post a picture, but I can't find that artwork in my stash.
We found a simple cross stitch kit of a frog at Hobby Lobby for under $5. Chloe really enjoyed her sewing project.
Extend through Life Skills:
Frog bread was a great treat! We created a loaf of bread shaped like a frog and the kids had a wonderful time making and eating it.
This next activity was suggested by my son's OT. He has S.P.D and needs to drink shakes some times to help regulate him. This healthy version is just gross sounding enough to excite young children. Simply create frog tongues (curly straws) and bug gut shakes (applesauce and fruit). Yummy.
Another yummy snack is frogs on a log. Cover pretzel sticks in pb and place green m&ms on the "log".
Extend through entertainment:We watched and enjoyed You tube: A Swim and discussed claymation. Then the kids each sculpted a frog and toad out of clay.
Still need more?Check out these great sites for more learning.
www.exploratorium.edu/frogs/mainstory/frogstory2.html
www.allaboutfrogs.org/funstuff/coloring/poison.html
http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca
Have fun bringing this great book to life!
