| Frogs are fascinating creatures. They are in a category of animals called amphibians. They spend part of their life in the water, and part on land. Frogs are cold-blooded. That means that their body temperature changes with the temperature of their surroundings. As winter approaches in cold areas, frogs will burrow in the mud and hibernate for the winter. Some wood toads that live north of the Arctic Circle can survive in a frozen state for weeks. They use the glucose in their blood as a sort of antifreeze to protect their vital organs. Most frogs are fantastic jumpers. Many can jump up to 20 times their own body length. Frogs have four toes on their front feet and five toes on their back feet. Depending on where the frog lives, he many have suction-cup-like pads on his toes to help him stay in the trees. Other frogs use the webbing between their toes as a kind of parachute. Frogs eat live prey, but beyond that they are not real selective. They'll eat insects, spiders, worms, snails, and even small fish. Most frogs catch their prey by shooting out their long stick tongue of of their mouth. They swallow their food in one gulp; frogs don't have teeth for chewing. Some frogs are tongueless. They will use their front hands to catch their prey and stuff it in their mouths. Frogs have very good eyesight, which is necessary to catch their prey. Being on top of their heads, the eyes are able to see in many different directions. Their eyes are also used to help them swallow. Kind of weird, but neat trick: there are holes in the skull that let the eyes sink in and help push the food down the throat. Frog skin is spectacular. The frog is able to absorb moisture and oxygen through its skin. The frog sheds is skin about once a week. However, there's no dirty laundry in frog-ville. They just eat their old skin. Many frogs have green or brown skin that helps them blend in with their environment. Other frogs are spectacularly colored. A prime example is the poison dart frog of South America. Some frogs can change their coloring based on their temperature, mood, or enivorment. Frog sounds are not just the "ribbet ribbet" or "croak croak" that you learned when you were two years old. Generally, the frog calls have to do with courting and mating. Each species has a different call. If you can learn to identify the calls, you can identify what kind of frog it is, even if you can't see it. Frogs have a life cycle that starts with a fertilized egg. The egg develops into a tadpole. The tadpole will grow arms and legs and lose its tail. When the metamorphosis is complete, you have a frog. Some frogs go to great extremes to care for their developing young. See what you can find out. You'll come to the same conclusion that I did--frogs are fascinating. Written by Sherry Prioli / Sources: See Links below |
| Frogs are Fascinating |
| The following were done at the frog workshop Frog Life Cycle Craft Origami Frog -- my source came from Family Fun magazine, but the same instructions were on enchanted learning's site. Bean Bag Frog -- I liked the bean bags stitched better than glued, so we just did a bean bag toss with completed frogs. National Geographic Coloring Page |
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