Homeschool Nature Study: Fabulous Find of the Frog Kind

Here is what a frog homeschool nature study looks like with ideas for further follow up after your outdoor time. The unexpected nature studies just may be the finest kind.

Fabulous Find of the Frog Kind

This morning was a regular sort of morning. The August mornings when we finish up the basics then head to the pool. Regular until Littlest Girl screamed, “there’s a frog swimming out of the filter!”

Frog Homeschool Nature Study

Eldest boy carefully scooped it and let it dry itself off on the concrete. Then the begging began. “Can we keep him, Mama? Can we? Can we? Huh?”

So, the cooler that housed the ice pack and two sets of epipens was re-purposed as a frog carrier. We stayed a little while longer, practicing swimming like a frog in the pool.

And then the frog was carried home to the Hodgepodge household.

The children placed him in the butterfly habitat while we had lunch. And we talked about the backyard plastic pool. How glad we were that we didn’t dump the rain water that had filled it since last week. It was getting green and had plenty of mosquito larvae swimming around. Perfect frog food!

We also did an internet search and learned a bit about How to Care for a Frog. But I really like the in-the-backyard-plastic-pool-and-can-take-care-of-myself kind of frog.

Eldest son’s observations: “Before today I’d never seen a frog sleep. He has clear eyelids – and they close from the bottom.” He also observed the frog snatch and eat a red ant from the side of the pool.

Middle Girl: says that his skin was “bumpy-ish” when she observed it up close with the magnifying glass.

Littlest Girl: “His legs are really, really long!”

But here’s what I, this mama, noticed. The children wanted to be outside the rest of the day. Despite the heat.

Watching the frog. Seeing what he was doing. Floating him around on the log.

Ideas for Follow Up Frog Homeschool Nature Study

I pulled out all the books we could find on frogs. We wondered – how can you tell if it is a male or female? What sort of Georgia frog is this? We narrowed down our findings but will take a bit more time to research and learn. Next, some sketched. Mostly they observed.

Five-year-old followed the Draw, Write Now book. 12-year-old took his handy notebook page from Homeschool Nature Study membership outside to sketch.

Last week, Nana had found and already sent us a link to a wonderful, step-by-step drawing tutorial for frogs, tadpoles, dragonflies and lily pads! So, we will click over here and do some more sketches like above.

AND, Nana has a NEW Frog Life Cycle art lesson available in You ARE an ARTiST Clubhouse membership in her Pond series.

We followed up our frog nature study time later in the week with our Creation Club. We went to a spot called Lily Pad Pond. Perfect for studying cattail, dragonflies and finishing up a summer frog study. Mason and pimento jars at the ready.

Frog Nature Study Homeschool Resources

If you haven’t checked out Homeschool Nature Study, be sure to click over.

You can jump in on Homeschool Nature studies too. Just click over to Homeschool Nature Study to bring the Handbook of Nature Study to Life in Your Homeschool! Many ideas for getting started with nature study. With membership, you enjoy ready made notebook pages, and join a community of other families enjoying nature studies.

I shared a review of Outdoor Hour Challenges over at The Curriculum Choice, explaining how nature study easily became a welcome addition to our homeschool.

So, any frogs swimming in your backyard plastic pool?

Published by Tricia August 2011, updated June 2022