Learning About Frogs and Toads
The other night when I was sitting outside, I noticed that all the tree frogs were out filling the air with their music. It kind of made me feel like I was camping! My son and I went around to see if we could find any. We found one the next day under his slide. This got us started on a mini-unit about frogs and toads.
I love it when we have unplanned learning moments. Something we observed outside became the reason for a unit of study. I pulled out our (afflink) frog lifestages figurines, wood circles and a printable frog nature journal. I put it in a basket because for some reason that makes it seem even more special. 🙂 Well, at least that helped my son think it was extra special. 🙂
I love having the frog life cycle set because it makes it so much easier for younger children to grasp metamorphsis. We talked about how a frog starts from an egg and then grows through stages. He put the figures in the right place for our hands-on life-cycle
Then he glued our frog life cycle print-outs into his frog nature journal. We read a few facts about frogs and toads and then he free-played with the wood pieces and frog figurines.
Later in the week he ran in the house all excited because he had found a toad outside! He ran to get his frog and toad nature study journal, brought it outside so we could compare the toad to the one in his book. We also went on a nature hike to a local pond. We found two types of tadpoles– green frog tadpoles and bull frog tadpoles. We couldn’t believe the difference in size between the two!
He has a little collection going of paper bag journals. If you’re interested in getting a printable set, you can grab them here: Nature Study Printables for Toddlers and Preschoolers
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