Frog and Tadpole Science Activities for Kids

There is something about frogs that kids find so exciting and interesting; they are neither the most beautiful creatures nor very graceful but none the less, kids and adults alike seem to be fascinated with frogs.

Frogs are an amphibian which means they are cold-blooded creatures that live a double life, part in the water and part on the land. Frogs start out as eggs, change into tadpoles and transform into frogs, the tadpole and frog cycle is really an amazing feat of nature!

Here you will find numerous science activities for kids that involve the transformation and differences from tadpole to frog. These science activities can be done in the classroom or even at home; regardless of where the science activities are done, kids will learn a lot about tadpoles and frogs plus they will have a great time learning.

From Tadpole to Frog Science Activity #1: Frog and Tadpole Pictures

Show pictures of lots of different types of frogs and on a chalk board or piece of paper have the children or help the children list the variations of each type of frog, the children can write things they notice about each type of frog. Show a chart or graph of the stages of transformation of the frog from egg to tadpole to frog and talk about the process with the children. Most public libraries have a large selection of science related texts and it is typically fairly easy to find lots of books on the life cycle of frogs.

From Tadpole to Frog Science Activity #2: Frog and Tadpole Game

Assign some children to be frogs and other children to be tadpoles, the frogs and tadpoles should be as equal in numbers as possible. Tell the children that you are going to hold up words or pictures depending on age and reading level of the children that show the characteristic of frogs, tadpoles or neither one. The characteristic words can simply be written on card stock and the characteristic pictures could easily be found on the internet. The child that has the corresponding characteristic depending if they are a tadpole or frog should raise their hand and if they are correct, they get to hold the card. Some examples of frog characteristics are: four legs, hops on land, long back legs and some examples of tadpole characteristics are: tail, lives in water, no legs. Examples that would not go with either a tadpole or frog are: can fly, has fur, has eight legs etc.

From Tadpole to Frog Science Activity #3: Leap Frog Exercise

Have children get in line and leap like a frog across the room, talk about how their legs work while leaping and discuss why a frog is so much better at leaping than humans. This is a great activity to do when movement is needed and the children are tired from sitting.

From Tadpole to Frog Science Activity #4: Field Trip to a Pond

If a pond or wet land area is nearby, it is always fun for children to see the egg to frog cycle upfront and personal. Make sure enough adult chaperones are with to supervise children in small groups and search along the edge of a pond or wetland area for eggs, tadpoles and frogs. Collecting a sampling of eggs, tadpoles and frogs to take back to the classroom or home to study is an excellent learning opportunity for children; just make sure to return the creatures back to their natural habitats when the children are done studying them and make sure to let the children know how important it is to return the creatures back to where they came from.

Sources:

http://allaboutfrogs.org/weird/general/cycle.html

http://www.tooter4kids.com/Frogs/life_cycle_of_frogs.htm

http://www.kiddyhouse.com/Themes/frogs/

http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/Themes/Frogs/