Hoppy Frog Friends Craft

This morning we crafted ourselves some frog friends.  My mother had used this craft idea during her summer reading program a few years ago and I thought we would try our hand at it this morning.  We had leftover party blowers from my father's 60th birthday party and I hate to throw out perfectly good craft materials.

These little amphibians kept the children occupied for a long time.  We learned about frogs and tadpoles.  As an extra bonus (as my mother pointed out) these are great for developing muscles in the mouth and will help children with speech.  They are cute too!

The children loved their frogs and attempted to "rid" my house of flies, spiders, and dragonflies.  I am considering branching out into the exterminating business.  Now, if only they weren't terrified of the real deal...

Here is what you will need:

• one green paper plate-  We had colored ones, but you could paint or color white ones.
• one red paper plate
• one party blower-  The ones that roll up work the best for catching rogue flies.
• two eyes-  Mom used ping pong balls and I used squiggly eyes that I had on hand.  Get creative!
• four legs-  This is optional, but I was teaching them about frogs and their life cycle. 
• stapler, hot glue, or sturdy tape-  I prefer hot glue, but I had to keep little fingers away.  I ended up finishing most of our projects. 

Here's what you will do:

• In the middle of your plates, cut a small circle or rectangle large enough to fit the blower in.  Align the cuts to match up on the pairs of plates.

• Take your plates and put them together with the colors facing out.  The green will be on top and the red will be inside for the mouth.  Glue them together.

• Add your eyes.  I propped them toward the front so you could easily see them. 

• Glue your legs onto the bottom of the frog.  You could accordion fold the legs to make them bouncy.

• Insert your party blower.

• Blow away! 

We love our hoppy frog friends!  What did you make today?