Our classroom has been abuzz with talk of frogs and tadpoles. During our study of frogs and ponds, we welcomed two new pets to our classroom. Lilly and Monty are Albino African Clawed Frogs. The children all helped prepare for them by making a list of what we would need for their habitat, helping set up the aquarium, and voting on names. The frogs will grow to five inches and will soon be eating small feeder guppies. The children have spent a lot of time observing their behavior and hunting for them in the rocks.

Tadpoles have also been a part of our research during these themes. We now have two bullfrog tadpoles in our room. They will soon be growing legs and loosing their tails and the children are very excited to see them change. This past week, the children worked on observational drawings of the tadpoles. As they drew, we talked about what the tadpoles look like and how an artist can represent that on paper. We talked about what we noticed when we looked at the frogs and what shapes make-up their bodies. Some of the children worked to sound out the beginning sound in the word tadpole while others listened for more sounds in the word. At this point in the year we are beginning to focus on the details in our work, especially during journal time.

We will be learning all about insects over the two weeks before spring break. The children will again get the chance to observe and draw what they see as we introduce meal worms, crickets, and Rosie, our tarantula to our Science Center. The children are encouraged to bring in insects that they catch at home in sealed containers to show to the class.

As the weather changes again, it may be time to check your child’s clothing box for weather and size appropriate clothing. Just let us know if you would like to take the box home for a swap or you can send extra clothing in a labeled bag and we will swap them out for you.

Once the weather stabilizes and we are past the chance for frost, we will be planting our classroom garden and would love to have a few plants donated to get us started. We will be planting seeds in the classroom for one of our classroom plots and planting hearty plants in the other. If you would like to split some plants from home or bring in extras from your gardens, please let us know. As always, any help is appreciated.

PS Be sure to look at our pond habitat mural that we are creating cooperatively with Miss Kelly’s class! It is hanging on the wall between our room and the office. We think it’s awesome!