Get your homeschool hopping with a frog unit study!
It all started with a mason jar full of pond water and five tadpoles sitting on my kitchen island.
Little Miss and her daddy had been fishing in our pond and saw some tadpoles swimming around. Somehow they became our new pets. Well, at least until they become full-fledged frogs, and then they’re going back to the pond.
But I couldn’t let the opportunity for a unit study pass me by, so I got busy planning. Today I want to share a few (ok, a lot of) resources with you to help you plan your own homeschool frog unit study!
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How to Use These Resources
First of all, I want to make something very clear. You do not have to use all of these resources for a unit study on frogs.
You don’t even have to use half of them!
I have a tendency to over-prepare for anything we study in our homeschool.
Little Miss tends to thrive with interest-led topics, so I keep my eyes and ears open to the things she takes up an interest in.
I also keep in mind that these interests could last for a day or several weeks.
When I’m testing out the waters of a new unit study, I see what kinds of resources we have around the house. These could be books, a documentary from a streaming service like Curiosity Stream, games, toys, or even a few YouTube videos.
If those stand the test of time (a couple of days), then I begin collecting more resources to add in.
Here are many of the resources we are using for our own frog-themed unit.
Books
Books are the spine of all of the unit studies we do in our homeschool. We might read a book or two in our morning basket to set the stage for a new unit study, or I’ll strew a few around the house for Little Miss to discover.
The library website is always my first stop.
I search the library database for books that look interesting and that are available. (I’ve reserved books before that were already checked out, and by the time I got them, the interest on that topic had passed.)
If there are books that I really want that are unavailable for some reason, then I hit up Amazon.
I’ve made a list of frog books that you can use for your frog unit study. There is enough variety that they will interest everyone from the toddlers and preschoolers to your elementary-aged kids.
Frog Books for Toddlers
In our house, toddler books have to be durable and colorful. Some kind of interactive element makes it even better!
Here are a few frog toddler books for your littlest readers.
Little Green Frog Chunky Lift-a-Flap Board Book – This board book introduces your toddler to Frog’s friends in the pond. The flaps are very sturdy and can take some extracurricular flap pulling.
Five Green and Speckled Frogs: A Count-and-Sing Book – You’re singing the song in your head right now, aren’t you? Little ones love this song, and the illustrations are excellent!
Hoppity Frog: A Slide-and-Seek Book – Sliding books are all the rage with the twins. And this fun book allows your toddler search for Hoppity Frog in the pond.
How Does a Frog Grow? – I’d recommend this board book for older toddlers or preschoolers. The illustrations and real photographs of frogs will grab your child’s attention as they learn about the life cycle of a frog.
Frog Books for Preschool
When I was compiling this list of preschool frog books, I looked for the amount of text on each page and how difficult the words are. I’m not perfect at deciding on grade levels of books, but I’d like to think I got pretty close.
I’d also like to point out that the preschool books could absolutely also be used in addition to the frog books for elementary, especially in the primary years.
Fabulous Frogs – This book is a fun introduction to many different kinds of frogs that live all over the world. It’s got a lot of information, but not too much, making it great for your preschool frog-lover!
A Frog’s Life – We enjoyed this book! A Frog’s Life has lots of beautiful illustrations and information. The labels and charts make it easy to get information about many species of frogs found all over the world.
National Geographic Readers: Frogs! – Meant for young kids, this book is filled with frog facts and photos. With bite-sized paragraphs, it’s perfect for preschoolers.
Frog Books for Elementary
Frogs – In true Seymour Simon fashion, this book is full of beautiful photographs of frogs. The pages of this book are filled with a lot of information, which might make it best for older elementary students or for parents to read aloud to younger elementary ages.
A Place for Frogs – This book focuses on many environmental issues that affect and ideas to help protect the frogs in your area. In this book, you’ll find information about many of the ecosystems that house different frog species all over the world.
All About Frogs – Another book that looks at the many different frog species and their habitats, All About Frogs has terrific illustrations and easy to read graphics.
Fanatical About Frogs – What a beautiful book! This one came highly recommended and did not disappoint! Owen Davey covers everything from frog skin and calls to the life cycle, and even frog mythology and conservation. He also has several other books in his About Animals series.
There is also a spread in our Nature Anatomy book about frogs and their life cycle. This book is absolutely gorgeous and we have the boxed collection of Nature Anatomy, Farm Anatomy, and Food Anatomy.
Stories About Frogs
Not all of the frog books have to be nonfiction, right? Here are a few excellent stories with frog characters.
I’m a Frog! – We LOVE the Elephant and Piggie books around here. A lot. In this silly story, Piggie pretends to be a frog, much to Gerald’s dismay. It’s a sweet, fun story.
Frog and Toad – Frog and Toad are iconic children’s book characters! This collection contains Frog and Toad are Friends, Frog and Toad Together, and Frog and Toad All Year.
I Don’t Want to Be a Frog – Frog doesn’t want to be a frog anymore. In this fun story, watch as frog learns to appreciate who he really is.
Technology
Sometimes a well-made documentary or podcast can teach a concept much better than I can. That’s when I turn to technology to help me out.
Here are a few resources you might like to add to your frog unit study.
TV Shows/Movies
Disclaimer: I have not watched all of these videos personally. You might want to preview ahead of time if you’re concerned about the content.
Amazon Prime has several shows and documentaries available. If you have Amazon Prime, you can watch many of them for free. If you don’t have Amazon Prime, click below, get a free 30-day trial, and then watch them for free.
- Nature: Fabulous Frogs – Narrated by Sir David Attenborough, Nature: Fabulous Frogs has excellent reviews.
- Wild Kratts – We love PBS Kids, and Little Miss adores Wild Kratts. You can find the first two seasons of the show on Amazon Prime, or if you have the subscription to PBS Kids on Amazon, you can watch all of the shows. You can also just hope to find these frog episodes on your PBS channel.
- Aqua Frog (Season 6 Episode 4)
- Under Frozen Pond (Season 8 Episode 5)
- The Great Froggyback Ride – This one isn’t available on Amazon yet, but you might be able to catch it on PBS.
Curiosity Stream has many documentaries that include frogs. The frogs may be scattered throughout the shows, but they’re in there.
Netflix is another streaming service with several options for frog shows, both informational and just shows with frogs as the characters.
YouTube is a great free option for finding excellent videos.
Podcasts
- But Why? A Podcast for Curious Kids – Why do turtles need shells? Why do frogs hop?
Online Resources
- Amphibian Education Resources from the Association of Zoos & Aquariums
- San Diego Zoo Fantastic Frogs
- St. Louis Zoo
- Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute’s All About Amphibians tour
Play
Games
We love using games in our homeschool. Here are some fun, frog-themed games that everyone in the family will enjoy!
- 1-2-3 Froggies (toddler/preschool)
- Feed the Frog (preschool/elementary)
- Sum Swamp (preschool/elementary)
- Tropical Frogs Shaped Memory Match (preschool/elementary)
- Fly Hunt (preschool/elementary)
- King Frog (elementary)
- Hoppers (elementary)
Sensory
We made a couple of different sensory bins for frogs, and they can be used in multiple ways.
The twins still have a terrible habit of putting everything in their mouths, so the first bin was for them.
Warning: When doing sensory tubs with toddlers, beware of choking hazards!
We used rubber frogs, lilypads made from green foam sheets, and water in a plastic tub.
This was perfect outside, and they had a blast making the frogs hop and splash. And dumping out the water.
The second frog sensory bin would be fun for older toddlers and preschoolers to explore the frog’s life cycle.
For this one, we used blue kinetic sand, this set of frog life cycle toys, some leaves, and a rock in a plastic tub. You could even use water beads for the water if you want.
Little Miss loved talking me through the life cycle and acting it out.
Sensory play is so beneficial for kids of all ages, so try to add in some sort of sensory activity to your unit study!
Experiences
Nothing cements the learning in a unit study like an experience of some kind.
Sometime during your frog unit, take an excursion to a pond, the zoo, or even an aquarium.
Museums might also have exhibits about frogs, and if all else fails, hit up the pet store near you and look at the frogs there!
Other Resources
Songs
Are you excited about your homeschool frog unit?
Hopefully, I’ve given you some ideas to use in your own frog unit with your kids.
I’d like to hear your feedback- was this too much information? Not enough? What kinds of things would you want me to add or take away from my unit study posts?
Did I miss anything? Let me know what you would add to your frog unit study in the comments below!
Where did you buy tadpoles?
We actually got them out of our pond.