Frogs lapbook and unit study

At Levi's request, we learned all about frogs!   For this unit study we read a lot of books, did some art work, jumped like frogs, made a lapbook, did some math, and I even made him a new outfit to wear.  

We found these little guys in our backyard:

I made Levi a frog outfit.  He chose the fabrics for this one, the shirt is super bright "hurt your eyes" neon yellow.  The shorts and applique are a vintage paisley fabric that I think I got at a thrift store.   I wasn't too sure about the combination, but I think it works in the end.  He loves the result! 

Here are (some) of the books we read, the rest were from the library.   Also seen here is a frog puzzle, a model of a frogs internal organs, and a box of model frogs with cards to match.  

Here is the finished lapbook:

Cover

Inside

Inside

This is a frog lifecycle book we put together and he colored.  And a color-by-number multiplication I found.  

This is the artwork we made, I used the lesson plan from "Art Projects for Kids".  I really liked the idea of using a partial template for him to trace, and having him add his own feet to the frog.   We used lemon juice to make the spots on the frog, which were more subtle than I expected.   The frog drawing on the right is copy work from Draw, Write, Now.   The drawing technique for this one had you start by drawing a triangle, and then adding the frog detail on top.  I thought that was a good way of helping figure out placement for the different frog parts.   His handwriting on this is really nice too!

Check out my Frog Pintrest board for even more ideas!

Resources:

Book printable from Worksheet Place
Frog water color painting idea
Frog collage/painting art from Balancing Everything
multiplication color by number worksheet from education dot com
How to draw a frog
lapbook from Homeschool Share
"Froggy" books reading response sheets

Book List:

Frog by Michael Chinery
Why the Frog Has Big Eyes by Betsy Franco
From Tadpole to Frog by Wendy Pfeffer
All About Frogs by Jim Arnosky
Tadpoles and Frogs (Usborne Beginners)
(I Can Read About) Tadpoles and Frogs by Ellen Schultz
It's Mine by Leo Lionni
Frogs by Gail Gibbons
Frogs, Toads and Turtles (Take Along Guides) by Diane Burns
Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel

Fall Plaid

        This outfit was inspired by the fall, not that Florida knows its supposed to be fall!  (It was 90 degrees today!).   Project Run and Play has a "plaid challenge" so I went with plaid fabric, using what I had on hand, brown with teal sparkly pinstripes, and red/cream. 
        I used a ton of embroidery designs from one of my favorite embroidery designers, Lynnie Pinnie.  There are NINE embroideries on this outfit! 
        The knee patches are corduroy, and stitched with darts to give them a "knee shape".   The other fabrics are two different plaids, and some solid brown.   The pants also have a roll up option, with the red plaid stitched inside.   And to top it off, a couple of faux leather buttons.
        The top has a loose, comfortable fit with raglan sleeves accented with a pop of green.  The embroidery designs were first stitched on fabric, and then satin stitched to the shirt.

Levi says he "loves these pants" and that the shirt is comfortable, so that makes me happy!

It was bedtime for my model, so he added some poses of his own!

Levi's Birthday Interview

I just realized I never posted Levi's 6th birthday interview!   Here it is:

Bouncy Ball Making

Do you remember the kits where you make your own bouncy ball?   I had one as a kid, and I found a kit for Levi, and gave it to him for his birthday.   
Its a quick project that he can do almost entirely on his own, and it gives a fun result!  I got this kit from Fat Brain Toys.


Here is what you get: 

Put the mold together, and pour in layers of powder (like sand art).  Make sure you tap it gently after each layer, this ensures that you won't have a gap at the top when you set the mold.

Then put the whole thing in water for 1min, let it sit for a little bit, and un-mold.  The kit I had as a kid required hot water, but this one is nice because you can use cool water, so the kid can do it himself.

Ta da!!   

He loved the bright colors and the rainbow/tye dye effect.  

Space Unit Study and lapbook

I guess I never posted about our Space lapbook/unit study!

My space board on pintrest

We used lapbook elements from:

Ye Shall Know Magic School Bus Space Explorer Lapbook
Homeschool share
Squidoo


Buddy's antique rocket toy is really cool.  You put a coin on it, push a button and the coin "disappears" (its shoots up into a hidden slot in the top portion of the rocket, ending up inside)

Here is the finished lapbook.   This one is in a 3 ring binder with the elements glued to cardstock.  We have used this method before for other large lapbooks, ts a nice way to incorporate full page worksheets and artwork into lapbooks. 

The rocket photo is from the Kennedy Space Center

This book, Thirteen Moons on Turtles Back, is a Native American story that we read.  After we colored a turtle to represent each of the "moons".  Here is a template for the turtle.

Copywork

Planet Roll Call poem is from Scholastic

Family of the Sun song is from here.  
Robot book printables are from here

   

We also used the "Space toob" to make a sensory bin.  I filled a box with black beans ("space"), glitter, glow in the dark stars, the "toob" elements, marbles/bouncy balls for planets, and laminated print outs of each planet and its name (so he could match them up, put them in order, etc).    You can see a similar one on Counting Coconuts

Book List: 

Usborne Dot to Dot space

There is no Place Like Space (cat in the hat)

Our Solar System

The search for the Mystery Planet (space math) 

Eyes on Adventure Exploring Space

DK First Encyclopedia Space

Magic School Bus Space Explorers

Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System

Magic School Bus Sees Stars

Looking At Space

If you were an Astronaut

USA from Space

Is there Life in Outer Space?  (Read and find out book)

Regards to the Man in the Moon

National Geographic Kids First Big Book of Space

Me and My Place in Space

Thirteen Moons on Turtles Back

Thats it!   Space wasn't Levi's favorite unit study, but living in the Space Coast, it was nice to learn a little about it.  There was a lot more we could have done, but, as ever, when homeschooling we try and go with what he is interested in, kids learn a lot more when they love whatever it is they are studying.