This Week at Mommy and Me: Frogs and Rainbows

This week featured one of our top ten Mommy and Me favorite books: Wide-Mouthed Frog by Keith Faulkner. Pop-up books provide the extra interest some toddlers still need to sit at circle time. Even if the story in a pop-up isn't developmentally appropriate, I still show the pictures and book talk. This story is great for this age group.

We made our own wide-mouthed frogs. This was originally a paper bag puppet. The bags I bought this time had product labeling on the bottom, so I couldn't use them. A folded piece of construction paper worked just fine. We used stickers and dot stampers to decorate the body and legs. 

I usually start with simple directions then give parents ways they can extend the activity if it is appropriate for their child. On this project, a child could get in some writing practice by dotting or drawing circles around the stickers. They could also get additional fine motor practice by helping to fold the legs. The letter on the frog's tongue has wings. I wish I could credit the original source, but unfortunately I can't find it.

Five Green and Speckled Frogs was our song card this week. Kids counted five frogs and added "speckles". The log is a strip of sandpaper (for some extra sensory input). They take it home and add it to their bound collection of song cards.

Since toddlers don't have a lot of experience with St. Patrick's day, I celebrate the season with green frogs and some rainbow fun. One of my all-time-favorite flannelboard stories is Rainbow Stew which I first saw on Storytime ABC's. We also worked on pre-writing skills with a special salt tray activity inspired by Nurture Store.