We’ve really enjoyed watching the growth of our tadpoles over the last few weeks and felt inspired to make this gorgeous Paper Plate Frog Mask. We love its curly tongue zooming out to catch an unsuspecting fly.
Whoosh….Croak, Croak!!!
Watching the tadpoles’ development has been such a fantastic source of awe and wonder and of course learning. We really are very lucky to have had this experience. When the frogspawn first arrived (thanks to our lovely friend Beth) the children were delighted with how jelly like it was and absolutely fascinated with the whole idea of those tiny black dots actually being aliveWithin a few days the black dots had changed to black commas and not long after that we discovered them actually hatching! Such a transformation in such a short time. Truly amazing.We’re a few weeks on now and they have grown so much. They are now whizzing around the tank and proving very difficult to photograph. This is the best I could do I’m afraid!
The tadpoles are now munching on fish food and pieces of meat dangled in on string and we’re on the look out for emerging legs and shortening tails. It shouldn’t be too long… we can’t wait to see the first little froglets, it’s so exciting!
- If you’ve visited My Little 3 and Me before you’ll know that we love making masks out of paper plates, they’re so quick and easy! You can see our other masks here.
- My children like the paper plate masks because they don’t cover their whole face and this means they’re comfortable and it’s easy to talk and see when you’re wearing them unlike full face masks. My youngest, Crumb, also wears glasses and bilateral cochlear implants so they’re great for him as they don’t get in the way of any of his equipment.
- You can find some of our other masks here:
- Pig Mask
- Sheep and Lamb Masks
- Rabbit Mask
How To Make A Paper Plate Frog Mask
Frog Mask Supplies:
- Frog Mask Printable Template
- A paper plate
- Green, red and white paint
- Elastic
- Small piece of tracing paper
- Black and green felt tip
- Scissors
- Glue
Method For Making A Fun Frog Mask
1-Print and cut out the Frog Mask Printable Template
2-Place it on the paper plate and draw around it and cut it out.
3-Paint the tongue red and the rest of the mask green and set aside to dry.
4-When it’s dry, paint and draw on your chosen features. We added some white for the eyes and a few felt tip blobs of texture too. Again, allow to dry.
5-Make two holes for the elastic. We used a hole punch but you could always just poke the holes through with a pencil.
6-Measure the mask against the wearer and cut a length of elastic to fit and tie it into place through the holes.
7-Roll the tongue around your finger to give it a nice upwards curve.
8-For the fly we simply folded a small square of tracing paper in half and cut out a basic fly shape. Opened it out and drew on a black body and wing veins and then glued it to the end of the tongue (underside).
We’ve recently found out about a super monthly Virtual Book Club, featuring a different author each month and lots of wonderful activities to go with the author’s books. This month’s chosen author is Leo Lionni. His books are simply yet beautifully illustrated and the stories are fun and meaningful. Our Paper Plate Frog Mask lends itself rather well to It’s Mine, a tale of three little frogs who aren’t too keen to share but learn the error of their ways in the end.
Re-enacting stories can really help build children’s understanding and allows them to safely explore the emotions and motivations of the characters in a meaningful way. These quick masks would be great for becoming Milton, Rupert and Lydia the quarrelsome frogs of Rainbow Pond!
Do take a mo to look at the other blogs in the linkup for lots of other great activities for the wide range of Leo Lionni books. Have fun! Croak!
thepreschooltoolbox says
This is adorable. So.much.fun!! Thanks, again, for taking the time to share via FB today!
Pinkoddy says
Oooh I’d love to have some frog spawn for the boys to watch change. I keep meaning to do butterflies with them. The mask is great and I’m loving paper plate masks at the moment too.
Ian says
That’s a cool frog mask. I like the fly on the tongue idea!
Emma "My Little 3 and Me" Smith says
Thanks Ian 🙂
IrenePal says
I also shared your post! http://tadpolerenu.blogspot.gr/2013/06/sharing-is-much-more-fun.html
Emma "My Little 3 and Me" Smith says
Thanks for the share Irene, glad you liked the post.
Sheila @ Pennies of Time says
We have two aquatic frogs and I am very excited to use your activity to help bring those forgotten frogs back to life for my boys! The frog mask is just AWESOME!
Emma "My Little 3 and Me" Smith says
Thanks Sheila. I hope your boys have lots of fun with it. I love reading about all the generous and kind things you guys get up to…inspirational. 🙂
Kim @ The Educators' Spin On It says
What a fun post! We’d enjoyed our tadpoles in our pond the years that we didn’t have fish, such fun! I love your frog Mask. I’d love for you to link this up to our Virtual Book Club for Kids if you’re interested in adding the book It’s Mine by Lio Lionni to your post. It would be a perfect addition to that book. http://rainydaymum.co.uk/little-blue-and-little-yellow-colour-exploration
Emma "My Little 3 and Me" Smith says
Thanks Kim, love your site and Rainy day Mums’. I didn’t know about your Virtual Book Club, what a super idea. I will go and have a peep. Thanks.
Emma says
ooooh how exciting. I must get some tadpoles next year. I LOVE the masks too. x
Emma "My Little 3 and Me" Smith says
Thanks Emma. the boys have adored having them. ( A few have died along the way which is a such a shame, but I guess that’s all part of the learning process too!)
maryanne @ mama smiles says
This mask is so cute!
Emma "My Little 3 and Me" Smith says
Thanks so much Maryanne. 🙂