Receptive language, Expressive language
Toddlers participate in a book sharing about frogs who enjoy eating delicious bugs and doing silly things.
UPDATE: The book featured in this Option may be challenging to secure. Option 2 is an alternative activity that also promotes word knowledge with a book about frogs.
[Playfully say “ribbet, ribbet” and invite 3–5 toddlers to join you to read a book about frogs.]
We are going to read a fun book about frogs.
Why did I say “ribbet, ribbet”?
A frog makes a noise that sounds like “ribbet.”
Frogs live near lakes and ponds. They are small animals.
Let’s have fun together by saying “ribbet, ribbet.”
[Display a picture of a frog.]
Here is a picture of a frog. Frogs eat bugs.
[Show book cover and point to frogs when you describe them.]
The frogs in our book are pretend frogs. Our book is for fun. The frogs in our book do silly things.
Look at the frogs on the cover of our book. What are the frogs doing?
Our book is called Five Green and Speckled Frogs.
[Point to book title.]
These words tell us the name of our book.
The word speckled means something has a lot of small spots.
Let’s find out about the frogs in our story.
[Use the book text and your own words to tell the story.
Point to spots (speckles) on the log and on a frog.
Help toddlers connect the eating-related words emphasized in the text to their own experiences. Encourage toddlers to say the words repetitively as done in the book text.
Accentuate rhyming words: frog, log; pool, cool
Encourage toddlers to describe pictures.
Engage toddlers in talking about silly things in the pictures, such as a frog wearing sunglasses, tossing a beach ball, and floating in an inner tube.]
The frogs in our story ate a lot of delicious bugs! The frogs went munch, munch, yum, yum, crunch, crunch, chomp, chomp, and gulp, gulp. What silly things did the frogs do in our story?
Encouraging toddlers to notice and talk about silly aspects of the story can help toddlers appreciate the book’s humor and understand the difference between real and pretend. Emphasize this difference by asking questions about reality, such as “Do real frogs wear sunglasses?” and “Do you think a frog needs an inner tube to float around?” You might wish to broaden the contrast to all animals, such as “Do animals wear sunglasses?”
The informal exposure to numbers 1–5 offered in the book is not intended to be a focus of this activity. Counting backwards is especially challenging. Numbers and counting are appropriately emphasized in the ELM Curriculum’s activities for preschool-age children.
Extra support
Enrichment
Receptive language, Expressive language
Toddlers participate in a book sharing about frogs who learn to dance.
[Invite 3–5 toddlers to join you to read a book about frogs. Tell children that the frogs in our book learn to dance!]
I wonder what we know about frogs. Where do frogs live? How do frogs get around (move from one place to another place)?
[Promote a conversation with toddlers that builds on their responses to your questions. Emphasize that frogs live near lakes and ponds. Frogs are small animals.
Display a picture of a frog. Point to legs when you name them.]
Here is a picture of a frog. Look at the frog’s legs. Frogs use their legs to jump and hop.
[Show book cover.]
I see three frogs on the cover of our book.
[Point to each frog.]
What are the frogs doing?
[Encourage toddlers to point to the frog they describe. Emphasize that two frogs look like they are jumping. Their feet are not touching the ground. One frog is sitting on the ground and watching the other frogs.]
Our book is called Hop Jump.
[Point to book title.]
These words tell us the name of our book.
The frogs in our story are pretend frogs. Our book is for fun. The frogs in our story do silly things.
Let’s learn about the frogs in our book.
[Use the book text and your own words to tell the story. Point to and describe (or encourage toddlers to describe) what is happening in the book pictures.
Emphasize the following important parts of the story, using the suggested questions to engage toddlers with key concepts:
Betsy is a frog who wanted to dance instead of jump and hop like other frogs. In the first part of our story, the frogs did not want Betsy to be with them when she danced. So Betsy found her own place to dance. But then what happened? (the frogs got curious about Betsy’s dancing and they learned to dance!)
Toddlers are likely to differ in what part(s) of this story appeals to them: Betsy’s interest in dancing, the ways in which the frogs jump/hop and dance, how the frogs did not want Betsy to dance with them while they jumped and hopped, and/or how the frogs changed their idea about dancing and learned to dance. Support the varied interests of toddlers in your gathering while also looking for opportunities to promote their understanding of words highlighted in the activity.
Pay attention to toddlers’ early understanding of a basic difference between hopping/jumping and dancing. Avoid teaching a way to dance. It is not appropriate in this activity to emphasize differences between hopping and jumping. These topics receive detailed attention in ELM activities offered for children 3–5 years of age. Other ELM activities for toddlers 24–36 years of age give attention to jumping (Blocks 10 and 22, Physical/Health).
Extra support
Enrichment
Receptive language, Expressive language
Toddlers repeat key words and actions emphasized in a storybook.
Be Prepared: This activity is for toddlers who are familiar with the book Five Green and Speckled Frogs or Hop Jump through participation in Option 1 or Option 2 or a similar book sharing. Use the book that is familiar to the toddlers in your gathering. This activity is organized by book.
If you use the Five Green and Speckled Frogs book, place the carpet squares in a line to represent a log, with sufficient distance between each square for toddlers’ jumping actions.
If you use the Hop Jump book, place the carpet squares in a large circle so toddlers can see one another’s actions. Leave sufficient distance between square for toddlers’ jumping actions.
Invite 3–5 toddlers to join you in pretending we are frogs. Show the book cover and remind toddlers our story is about frogs that sit on a log, eat delicious bugs, and jump into a pool of water. Reminder toddlers that delicious is a big word. Ask toddlers to repeat de-li-cious with you and tell what the word means (something tastes good).
Invite each toddler to stand on a carpet square. We will pretend our carpet is part of a log. Remind toddlers that a log is a large part of a tree that has fallen or been cut off. In our story, the log is in a pool of water. The frogs jump into the pool. We will pretend the floor is a pool of water. Encourage toddlers to practice jumping (once) into the pretend water in front of us.
Explain that you will read part of our story. We will say the words a frog says when it eats a delicious bug. Then we will jump from our pretend log into our pretend pool of water. We will climb back onto our log and do it again. Each time we can say a different word about eating a delicious bug. We need to listen carefully so we know what to say and when to jump.
Offer 3–4 different opportunities to repeat one eating word and jump into the pretend water. Follow the book’s order (munch, yum, crunch, chomp, gulp) but select words that you think would be of interest to toddlers in your gathering. Show the book page as you read it. Point to the eating word when you say it. Lead toddlers in repeating the eating word. Then read the remaining text about jumping into the “nice and cool” pool of water. Provide a clear signal (“nice and cool”) when it is time to jump. Then encourage toddlers to return to their pretend log. Use the same approach for each eating word and jump.
Conclude the activity by inviting toddlers to tell what happened. Review the words emphasized in the activity. Remind toddlers that we listened carefully so we knew what to say and when to jump.
Hop Jump book Invite 3–5 toddlers to join you in pretending we are frogs. Show the book cover and remind toddlers our story is about frogs who learn to dance.
Encourage each of the toddlers to stand on a carpet square. Explain that our carpet square is where we can jump and dance. Tell toddlers that we will jump first and then do some of the things the frogs did when they danced. Explain that all of us will say the word that tells what we are doing. Remind toddlers that all of us will need to listen carefully so we know what to say and do.
Use the following sequence and explanations:
Conclude the activity by inviting toddlers to tell what happened. Review the words emphasized in the activity. Remind toddlers that we listened carefully so we knew what to say and when to jump, leap, and turn.
This activity integrates support for gross motor, vocabulary, and self-regulation skills. Toddlers will likely differ in where extra support may be most needed. Some toddlers may jump before they hear you ask them to say jump with you, whereas others may take their clues for action from a peer and not what you say. Be flexible in accepting a range of responses to the activity. Use pauses (see Extra Support tip) to help toddlers focus. You also may wish to limit the number of movement opportunities.
Frogs are appealing at this age and most toddlers are likely to welcome the opportunity to be a pretend frog. Saying the key words emphasized in the activity (from the pertinent storybook) as part of physical movement is a useful and fun way to strengthen word knowledge.
The activity associated with the Hop Jump book (featured in Option 2) is a chance for toddlers to practice saying a word that describes what they are also doing. It is a direct, in-the-moment link between word and action. Look for signs of each toddler connecting the requested word with his/her action, such as saying jump when he/she jumps. This activity is focused on language skills, especially an understanding of action words emphasized in the book sharing. It is not necessary or appropriate to teach specific aspects of how to jump or engage in the activity’s other gross motor actions. It is fine for a toddler to do a small jump or take steps with both feet (one foot at a time) while saying “jump,” for example.
Extra support
Enrichment
Materials needed: *1 picture as shown, white paper (1 per toddler), crayons, markers
Invite toddlers to create their own picture of a frog with little spots. Point to and describe the spots on the picture of a frog. Provide crayons and markers for drawing a frog and adding dots. Demonstrate making a dot, if appropriate. Do not encourage toddlers to copy the picture of the frog. Invite the toddlers to put dots wherever they want to on their picture. Encourage toddlers to describe what they are doing. Offer to point words said by the toddler on their picture.
Materials needed: Five Green and Speckled Frogs by Priscilla Burris, toy frogs, item that represents a log
Share the Five Green and Speckled Frogs book with all children in your setting (Option 1). Give younger children a toy frog to hold. Invite older children to act out the story while younger children watch and repeat the eating-related words emphasized in the book text. Encourage preschool-age children to pretend to be frogs sitting on a log (using props such as a couch, chairs in a line, carpet squares) and jumping into a pool (Option 3).
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