Rib-bit, Rib-bit! It’s frog week! Learn a few silly songs, make some adorable crafts, and learn lots of great fun frog facts with the Lesson Planning Mommy!
What We’re Reading:
Gail Gibbons (Author)
Dawn Bentley (Author)
Salina Yoon (Illustrator)
Mo Willems (Author)
Jon J. Muth (Illustrator)
Nikki Smith (Author)
There Was an Old Monkey Who Swallowed a Frog
Jennifer Ward (Author)
Steve Gray (Illustrator)
Jon Scieszka (Author)
Steve Johnson (Illustrator)
Fun Frog Facts:
- Frogs belong to a group of animals called amphibians (am-fib-ee-anz).
- Amphibian means two-lives. Frogs begin their lives in the water as eggs and then tadpoles, and when they are fully developed, they live on land.
- They lay their eggs in water.
- Frogs are cold-blooded, which means that their bodies are the same temperature as the air or water around them.
- Frogs are found all over the world, and in every climate, except Antarctica.
- Tadpoles look more like fish than frogs; they have longs and finned tails, and they breathe through gills.
- Instead of drinking water, frogs soak it into their body through their skin.
- Frogs use their sticky, muscular tongue to catch and swallow food. Unlike humans, their tongue is not attached to the back of its mouth. Instead it is attached to the front, enabling the frog to stick its tongue out much further.
- Frogs can see forward, sideways, and upward all at the same time. They never close their eyes, even when they sleep.
- Remarkably, frogs actually use their eyes to help them swallow food. When frogs blink, their eyeballs are pushed downward, creating a bulge in the roof of their mouths. This bulge squeezes the food inside the frog’s mouth and down the back of its throat.
Songs:
The Bullfrog Song
The bullfrog sang the strangest song, he sang it night and day.
Ker-runk, ker-runk, ker-runk, ker-runk, ker-runk, was all it seemed to say.
A duck who liked to sing thought he would give the song a try:
Ker-runk, quack, quack, ker-runk, quack, quack they sang as I walked by.
The spotted cow had never heard a more delightful song.
Right then and there the spotted cow began to sing along.
The frog, the duck, the spotted cow sang out so loud and clear:
Ker-runk, quack, quack, ker-runk, moo, moo was all that I could hear.
The speckled hen, a mother hen, whose work was never done,
began to sing for she knew when you sing your work is fun.
The frog, the duck, the cow, the hen, all sang the happy song:
Ker-runk, quack, quack, moo, moo, cluck, cluck, they sang the whole day long.
Five green and speckled frogs
Sat on a speckled log
Eating some most delicious bugs
YYYYUUUUMMMM YYYYUUUUMMMM
One jumped into the pool
Where it was nice and cool
Then there were
Four green and speckled frogs
GGGGLLLLUUUUBBBB GGGGLLLLUUUUBBBB
Five Little Tadpoles (Poem)
Five little tadpoles swimming near the shore.
The first one said, “Let’s swim some more.”
The second one said, “Let’s rest awhile.”
The third one said, “Swimming makes me smile.”
The fourth one said, “My legs are growing long.”
The fifth one said, “I’m getting very strong.”
Five little tadpoles will soon be frogs.
They’ll jump from the water and sit on logs.
I Have a Little Frog
I have a little frog
His name is Tiny Tim,
I put him in the bathtub,
To see if he could swim,
He drank up all the water,
And gobbled up the soap!
And when he tried to talk
He had a BUBBLE in his throat!
Activities: Five Little Speckled Frogs
What You Need:
- Frog clip art
- 6 Popsicle sticks
- Paper towel tube
- Supplies to decorate the frogs
Directions:
- Color the frogs with different shades of green
- Decorate the frogs with wiggly eyes and sequins
- Color the paper towel tube with brown marker to look like a log
- Tape the Popsicle sticks to the frogs and make 5 slits in the paper towel tube
- Make a slit in the back, and add a Popsicle stick to help it stand up on its own
With just a few supplies, children can transform regular stones into animals, people, or toys.
What You Need:
- Paint
- Glue
- Rocks
Both tempera and acrylic paints work well for rock craft projects; tempera looks chalkier, but washes off easily, making it the best choice for kids. Acrylic paint has a glossy finish. Before painting, kids should sketch out their plan; it’s easier to envision what the finished project will look like if they draw it on paper first.
Make A Frog!
What You Need:
- White paper plate
- 1 party favor
- Lime green & red construction paper
- Green marker or paint
- 2 medium-sized googly eyes
- Scissors
- Glue Stick
Directions:
- Use scissors to create 2 eyes for the frog
- Paint or color the plate green
- Cut circle eyes and a mouth out of the lime green construction paper
- Cut lips out of the red construction paper
- After the paint or marker dries on the plate, glue the eyes and mouth onto the paper plate
- Glue the googly eyes on top of the lime green circle eyes, and make a slit with the scissors in the center of the red lips
- Pop the party favor in the slot and catch some flies!
Play Leap Frog
Have your children all line up and squat down. You can then have them play the classic game of leap from while yelling, “Leap!”
Snack: Make a Frog
What You Need:
- 1 green apple (for body)
- 3 green grapes, halved (for legs
- 2 baby marshmallows (for eyes)
- 2 chocolate chips (for pupils)
Mom-Me Outing:
This is one of my little guy’s favorite times of the year! Where we live, there are THOUSANDS of little itty-bitty baby frogs! We’ve lived in the GLBR for almost three years, and he’s still amazed with all the little frogs!
Now is a great time to visit local parks and gardens. If you’re lucky, you will be able to show your kids the life cycle of a frog. You could even check out your favorite pet store to visually explain the different stages of a frog’s life.
Learn the lifecycle of a frog by watching this video!