Continuing our Pond Study

We are continuing our pond study this week with learning the life-cycle of our toads and frogs. However, I wanted to share with you something we did last week to learn the difference between our new little friends in the pond.

Last week, while taking our walk around the pond the boys were pointing out what they saw. They kept calling out frog, toad, bull frog but, they had no clue what was what. I shared with them the difference between the amphibians. I talked to them about their appearances, and where they lived. After discussing with them these difference. They went around telling me which was which. They got most of them correct.

The next day, I wanted to test Carson to see if he remembered. I found this really cool free printable over at Deceptively Educational of a frog and toad. I printed that out on some heavy card stock for Carson to paint. After he was done painting them, we discussed which one he thought was the frog. (The drawings are a bit hard to tell the difference) He figured out the frog was the one with the skinnier, longer legs with webbed toes. The top half of the two drawings really had no difference, so we discussed what in real life was the difference between the frog and toad's skin. Carson continued to tell me the toad's back was bumpy and the frogs was smooth. To represent the toads bumpy skin, we glued on some beans.

Lastly, I helped Carson cut out the frog and toad and we glued them on to their correct habitats. I was really impressed that he remembered most of what we learned out at the pond the day before. He really enjoyed making these. We have since removed them from their habitats and added brads to make them moveable. Carson has been hopping them all around all weekend!