Frog Spawn Place Value

Frog Themed Place Value Workjobs

Photo Credit: Toad Eggs
on Flickr, Creative Commons.

Frogs lay their eggs in clusters and toads lay their eggs in strings.

To practice place value:

1. Lay out a sheet of blue paper (Pond Mathmat) Cut it down the middle. On one paper write frog eggs and on the other write toad eggs.

2. Roll dice of two different colors. The black die could be the ones and the green could be the tens.

3. Use White Reinforcement circles to show the number in clusters (Frog Spawn) or in strings of tens and ones (Toad Spawn)

4. Write the number in digits on the back of each one.

Later on these papers could be laminated and become a matching game with the answers on the back for self-checking.

This is adapted from an idea in Instructor , March, 2001 by Jacqueline Clarke .

More activities with a frog theme can be found at: The Frog Unit Study

Frogs are a popular Unit Study

Children love learning about animals and frogs are one of the more interesting wild animals that can easily be observed by children. In the Frog Unit Study, written by The Homeschool Club Co-Founder, Evelyn Saenz, children learn about frogs and all areas of the curriculum are addressed.

The games Swat the Verb Flies has children pretending to be frogs catching flies. Frogs only eat insects that are moving. By using fly swatters, the children swat at fly shaped cards which have words written on them. If the word is a verb, a word that shows motion, the children (Froglets) swat it.

The games and activities in this Frog Unit Study are unique and original. Be sure to visit often for more frog themed activities all across the curriculum...

The Frog Writing Center

The green spotted table and frog chairs inspire young frogs to write their life histories.

Provide plenty of paper, pencils, and frogs to observe. Novelty pens that are shaped like frogs or paper that is cut in a frog shape can also inspire writing.

Spend time writing every day. Write in all curriculum areas and don't forget to publish the best writing so that everyone can be inspired to write more.

The more you write about frogs the more you will learn about frogs because writing requires observation, deep thinking and accuracy in expressing your thoughts.

From The Frog Unit Study: Hopping to Learn

Autumn Frog and Leaf Litter

Fallen leaves provide shelter for a multitude of animals including earthworms, pillbugs, and millipedes. These animals provide food for frogs, toads, and other small animals. As winter draws near, the leaf litter becomes a warm blanket which helps these small animals to survive the cold.

Consider leaving a leaves on a portion of your lawn to increase the fauna of your yard. The frogs and other small animals will thank you and reward you with more wildlife sitings in the coming year.

Photo Credit: Portrait of Toad
on Flickr, Creative Commons.

Mixing frog green for Painting Frogs

Green Frog Paint
Color the Frog Green


Set out lots of yellow and some blue and let the kids mix the colors to make various shades of green.

Photo Credit: Frog Watercolor
on Flickr, Creative Commons.

Large paper covered in shades of green can be cut into frog or vegetation shapes to create bulletin boards, collages or other froggy art projects.

Cat-o-nine-tails in the Frog Pond

Today we look at cat-o-nine tales. Growing up in Vermont, Cat-o-nine-tails grew in swampy areas along the roads, in the setbacks of ponds and in low lying damp areas. I remember picking them with my mother and feeling the roughness of their brown blossoms. When we picked them in the late fall they would fall apart in clouds of fluff to disperse in the wind looking for another damp spot to sprout and grow new plants.

Cattails For Anne
Tuck, Ann
Buy at AllPosters.com

When we walked down to the frog pond in summer we would notice the Redwinged Blackbirds sitting on the Cat-o-nine-tails. The Cat-o-nine-tails stuck up a bit higher than the rest of the vegetation proving a perch for the blackbirds while they searched for insects to devour.
My sister and I loved to have sword fights with the Cat-o-nine-tails. Their stiff stems held up quite well and there were always more when the ones we were using broke.

How sad I felt one day when I heard than an invasive species, Purple Loosestrife is taking over the Cat-o-nine-tail’s habitat. Though Purple Loosestrifeis a beautiful plant, I would feel that the world was a poorer place if Cat-o-nine-tails no longer existed.

More recently I discovered what fun it can be to use a Cat-o-nine-tail as a pointer for word walls. They are a delightful addition to our Frog Unit Study. The children love to hold the Cat-o-nine-tail and point to words that we are reading about frogs and their habitat.

Using frogs to enhance learning...

Looking around my house I discovered that we had many different frog shaped objects that could be used to inspire children to work on language arts and math skills while playing games. Often these games are so much fun that the children may not even realize that they are working on these skills. Recently I was given a pair of froggy salt and pepper shakers. What could we do with them?

I posed this question to the children and soon we were out in the driveway creating a frog pond with lily pad place markers. We drew them with sidewalk chalk and used the salt and pepper shakers for place holders.

Learn more about this game on my Frog Unit Study.