Author: Elizabeth Miller, Extension Educator, 4-H Youth Development, Auglaize County

From Polliwog to Grown Up Frog

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Frogs are fascinating creatures! Here are some fun facts and activities about frogs for your Cloverbuds. There are many interesting facts about frogs, many books to read (both fiction and nonfiction), crafts to do, snacks to make and even songs to sing! Want to learn more about frogs? Let’s hop to it!

Have you ever seen what looked like little jelly eyeballs floating in the water? What could these be? They may have been frog eggs. Frogs lay their eggs in water and the eggs hatch into polliwogs, also known as tadpoles. Polliwogs live completely in the water, they have no legs yet for jumping, just a tail for swimming! As a polliwog grows, it develops legs and becomes a full-grown frog. Once it is a grown-up frog, it can live on the land.

Ribbit, ribbit, how far can you jump?!   (let’s see how far you can jump like a frog!)

Frogs are amphibians. They can live both in the water and on land. Frogs can be very small or very large. Some frogs can weigh up to 7 pounds while others are so small, they can sit on a dime. Frogs live everywhere in the world but Antarctica, and have been around as long as the dinosaurs! Where can you find frogs near you? (Ask Cloverbuds to share their ideas.) *Note: if you have a nearby location with a frog population, you might want to take your Cloverbuds on a frog adventure!

All frogs are green, right? Not true! Frogs can be yellow, red, orange, blue and even purple! What color of frog would you like to be? Check out this frog coloring page for your Cloverbuds to color as they wish. (You might show some pictures of colorful frogs).

There are many frog crafts available that are suited for the Cloverbud age level. Here is one that you can use or feel free to search for other options that your group might enjoy.

Supplies you will need for this craft:

  • Paper plates
  • Frog feet cut from green construction paper (4 per child)
  • Markers/color pencils/crayons
  • Party horns
  • Jiggly eyes
  • Glue
  • Scissors (adults may want to cut the hole so that it is the proper size.)

What to do:

Give each Cloverbud a paper plate. They will fold the plate in half. Have the Cloverbuds decorate the outside of the plate to look like a frog. Cut a hole in the center of each plate at the fold. The hole should be big enough to slide the party horn in snugly. Glue the jiggly eyes on the top side of the plate. Glue the feet on the bottom side of the plate. Insert the horn into the hole in the plate. Complete–a frog ready to catch some flies!

Would your Cloverbuds like a frog snack that will make them smile? Try the Apples Smiles recipe found in Fall Festival: A Harvest of Fun section of the Big Book of 4-H Cloverbud Activities. To make the smiles look like frogs, substitute a slice of strawberry (replacing the marshmallows) to look like a frog’s tongue. To take an extra leap, place a gummy worm so it appears to be hanging out of the frog’s mouth. Enjoy!

Your Cloverbuds might enjoy these books about frogs—How Does A Tadpole Grow? and I Don’t Want to be a Frog. 

Camp songs are always fun! Try this funny song about frogs.

LITTLE GREEN FROG

Um Ah, went the little green frog one day
Um Ah, went the little green frog
Um Ah, went the little green frog
and his eyes went Um Ah, Um Ah, Um Ah Ah
Beep, beep, went the big Mack truck one day
Squish Squash, went the little green frog
and his eyes diddn’t go Um Ah, anymore
’cause they both got eaten by a dog Woof Woof!

Gestures:
Um-Hands in and closed
Ah-Hands out and open
Beep-Pulling Mack truck horn motion
Squish-press hands together like your squishing something
Squash-Same as above

“Toad-ally” funny jokes to share with your Cloverbuds! 

What kind of music do frogs like best? (Hip hop)
Why are frogs such good basketball players? (They always make their jump shots)
Where do frogs go for breakfast? (IHOP)
What do frogs play during recess? (Hop-scotch)
What do frogs eat in the summer? (Hopsicles)

We hope that your Cloverbuds enjoy learning about frogs. A good way to end this meeting may be to ask your Cloverbuds what other animals they would like to learn about.

Sources:
annex.exploratorium.edu/frogs/mainstory/index.html
unsplash.com/s/photos/frog

 

Family Traditions

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“I always know when Santa has been here, because I see the candy cane hanging on my bedroom door”. These innocent words came from my young daughter one Christmas Eve. I panicked because I had totally forgotten that Santa had left candy canes on the girls’ bedroom doors the previous year! Did Santa have any candy canes in the house?! How could such a small little thing be one of the most important memories of our family Christmas? And now that my daughter is grown and has her own children, Santa is leaving a candy cane on their doors when he visits.

Family traditions! We all have them, each family has unique and different traditions – some are related to a holiday, some may be school, or birthday related or may involve a certain member of the family. Traditions can offer children a sense of normalcy, build excitement in anticipation, and build special bonds within a family.

This lesson will help you celebrate family traditions with your Cloverbuds. Encourage your Cloverbuds to share their traditions through stories and pictures. They may want to think of a new tradition they would like their family to start.

Enjoy learning more about your Cloverbuds and their families. And to answer your question – yes Santa did have candy canes to leave on my daughters’ doors that Christmas Eve!

A Long Winter’s Nap

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Yaawwnnn! These cold winter days make me feel lazy and sleepy. I just want to hibernate.

Hibernate? What is hibernate?

Hibernation is how animals save energy to survive harsh weather conditions or lack of food. When hibernating, an animal’s heartbeat and breathing slows down and its body temperature drops.

We usually think of bears when we think of hibernation. They eat up during the summer, putting on the extra pounds that they will need for their winter nap. They prepare a special place to hibernate — a bed lined with leaves and twigs. When winter sets in, the bears curl up in their dens and go without eating, drinking, or exercising for as long as 100 days!

While we probably are not going to hibernate for 100 days, we can have some hibernation fun. We can “bear-ly” wait for you to try!

First, we should prepare a snack to store some energy for our body. Let’s make some energy balls.

Next step, we need to make our den. Grab some blankets and cover a table that you can fit under. Bears like cozy little spots that are not too big. Make sure the inside is dark for excellent sleeping. Put your favorite pillow and blanket in your den. You might want to bring along a teddy bear to share the fun!

We probably should do a little exercise before we go into our den. Let’s do 10 toe touches, reach up to the sky as high as you can 5 times, and of course, we must do a quick bear walk!

Although most of the time you may be sleeping, you might want to bring along something fun if you are not ready to sleep. You can even put a flashlight in your den to help you see better. Here is a coloring page for you or how about a book to read?  Can you find a book about bears?

Are you feeling sleepy yet? If not, grab a piece of paper and write the word “HIBERNATION”. Can you find the letters inside that word to make these words – bear, ate, ran, ton, not, hear, near? Can you find any other words from those letters?

Yaawwnnn! Time for that winter nap. See you this spring!

*This activity is written as a stay-at home Cloverbud activity, but creative club volunteers may want to gather supplies to have their members design a large multi bear den and complete the activities, including making the snacks.

Photo credit for Favorite Books about Bears and Hibernation graphic: pre-kpages.com