Frog Unit Study Ideas for Kids

Somewhat piggybacking off the post about insect and spider crafts, another great creature that some kids really love is frogs.

The Jenny Evolution has a great roundup of books about frogs (The Wide-Mouth Toad is one of our favorites!). Even better, there’s a great collection of other resources for learning about and playing with frogs in the post.

Check out our very own Frog Life Cycle lapbook available for download here.

There’s a lot of stuff there, from anatomy to games to writing prompts, so you should check them all out, but here are a few more of my favorites:

This Frog Themed Color Word Book from Books and Giggles is adorable for your new readers (and fun to color, too).

The Natural Homeschool has a set of printables on the frog life cycle.

The appropriately named Frog Mom has five frog exercises for kids.

And I love Artsy Mama’s recycled K-cup frog and fun skip counting activity (on lily pads, of course).

Do you have a kid who loves frogs? I’d love to know if you try any of these activities!

[Photo via The Jenny Evolution.]

You can make a lesson with this craft by adding a children’s storybooks about frogs to the lesson.

Here are some more crafts

Bean Bag frog

Water Lilly Frog Kids Craft

Next Plan Idea:

Spiderweb Crafts for Kids - Halloween Activity

The celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is important throughout Mexico and other parts of the world. Her feast day is Dec. 12, and the celebrations honoring her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531 begin a few days before that.

Whether you celebrate yourself or just want to share about the celebration at home or in your classroom, Las Mañanitas: The Beautiful Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a good place to start. The book, by Ernesto Joel Vega Rosales and Jeanette Gonzalez Seneviratne, with illustrations by Dana Sanmar, tells the story of a family’s celebration of the feast day in both English and Spanish.

They prepare with a novena, which is nine days of prayers and preparations. The children, Lucia and Pablo, are given special outfits made by their grandmother that look like what Juan Diego might have worn when he saw Our Lady. The book describes the prayers that are made each day, such as a prayer for respect for life, for families and for the indigenous people of the Americas, to name a few.

As told in the book, Juan Diego was a native Mexican born near modern day Mexico City. His given name was Cuaauhtlatoatzin, which means “He who speaks like an eagle.” When he converted to Christianity his name was changed to Juan Diego, and as he walked to church he passed a hill called Tepeyac. One day he heard the birds singing especially beautifully and a voice called him to go to the top of the hill.

There he saw Our Lady of Guadalupe, who asked him to tell the bishop she wanted a chapel built in her name at the foot of the hill. The bishop asked for a sign that Juan Diego really saw her, and later she had him collect flowers that she blessed and take them to the bishop. When Juan Diego dropped the flowers, an image of Our Lady could be seen on his cloak, which is still on display in her basilica to this day.

The feast day is celebrated as mañanitas, which includes singing, indigenous music and dancing, and children presenting flowers to Our Lady. Juan Diego is remembered today as being humble, brave and faithful, and was the first indigenous American made a saint.

The book is colorful and tells the story in a clear way, and it’s fun to have it both in English and Spanish if you teach Spanish or speak Spanish at home or in the classroom. It’s a great way to learn the basics of the celebration and the story of Juan Diego and why he is still remembered today.

About the book: 40 pages, paperback, published 2024 by Loyola Press. Suggested retail price $14.99.

Next Plan Idea:

Have you read?

Leave a Reply