April 20 - 24: Frogs and Ponds!

Hello Parents,

I hope you have been able to enjoy the sunshine. This week has really been nice. This is the time of year when I love living in the Northwest. We get just a little taste of what we have to look forward to over the next six months!

This is also a time when many parents start thinking about their children going to kindergarten or returning as 4-year olds. I usually get a lot of questions about literacy. I found this article and thought you might like it. This is really a great article and gives you some wonderful ideas.

The one quote I always go back to is that “children are made readers on the lap of their parents.” Try to enjoy reading the same book for the 100th time! :)

This week we are talking about ponds and frogs. In my weekly video, I read the book: A Tadpole Grows Up

On our class YouTube playlist, I’ve added these other books & songs you might like to read or listen to:

• Five Green and Speckled Frogs
  

• Big Wide Mouth Frog
  

• Can I Tell You a Secret
  

• Jump Frog Jump
  

• In the Pond
  

• I Don’t Want to be a Frog (This really has preschool humor!)
  

• Curious George Tadpole Trouble
  

• The Teeny Weeny Tadpole
  

Songs about Frogs:

• Five Green and Speckled Frog (Great subtraction song) (Puppets are in the printables PDF)
  

• Metamorphosis
  

• Home Frog Jump Letters with Animation
  

• Frog Jumps
  

• Brain Breaks Frogs
  

Here are some ideas for you to use at home:

Math game: Use lima beans with a black dot as frog eggs (count, add, subtract).

There is a color by number duck in the pdf and a shapes fishing game.

I have also included a frog life cycle game in the printables PDF.

Science: Use a paper plate to make a diagram of the life cycle of a frog.

Make a book that shows the life cycle. (Life cycle printable included in the printables PDF.)

Playdough: Make the playdough into a log and have the 5 green and speckled frogs sitting on the log. You could put the 5 frogs on popsicle sticks and use them as puppets also. (Frog puppets are in the printables PDF.)

Art:

• Make a rock into a frog
  

• 20 Frog Crafts
  

I hope you are all doing okay? I found an interesting article about children having some regression during times of stress. This may or may not be a stressful time for you and your family. Certainly life has changed quite a lot.

Again, I have given you many ideas. This is not to overwhelm you. I hope you pick what looks interesting to you and your child and have fun together.

Please know that I am here to help you if I can, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me. I love seeing all the projects the children are doing!

Take good care.

CCP Love,

Andy