Goin' on a Frog Hunt!

(If you are looking for my What Would You Do With It Wednesday post, stop back on Friday when I join forces with other bloggers for a weekly challenge using boxes this week!)

We've been having a fantastic time observing our baby chicks, but we have also started to talk about frogs. The children are very excited to observe frogs, and to see them hatch from eggs too. We have been hearing the frogs at night, but have yet to find any out and about.

Yesterday, before it started to rain too hard, we took a walk up the street to see if we could find any frogs in the pond near the cemetery. We had fun playing with our nets and trying to dance between the rain drops, but we didn't see any frogs or frog eggs.

When the rain started to pick up, we found out that trees make great umbrellas. We sat under the tree for awhile and watched the rain drops hit the pond. Then, when the rain let up, we used our "real umbrella" and walked back.

Today, we opted to take a walk along the bike path. Some of the children remembered seeing water near the tunnel and wanted to investigate.

We didn't find any frogs near the tunnel, so we kept walking......

We ran into a chipmunk "hanging" out near a tree.

We saw a pair of mallard ducks swimming in the water.

One worm..... and then.....

Oodles and oodles of worms! We must have seen at least "ten thousand!" (Next time we will bring a clip board to keep track of all the critters!)

Even though we didn't find any frogs today, we sure had fun exploring! We made a list of other places where we might be able to find some frogs. There are a lots of little ponds, puddles, and streams near by; I know we will have better luck one of these days!

It sure is fun to get out and investigate though! Especially when it involves tossing rocks in the water, trying to scoop things out with our nets, counting critters, and making echos in the tunnel!

What Would You Do With It? Wednesday #4, Cardboard Tubes (Toilet Paper, Paper Towel, etc)

Welcome to this week's edition of What Would You Do With It? Wednesday. This week's item(s) are paper tubes. You most often find them at the end of a roll of toilet paper or paper toweling. I'm having trouble hunting up the photos I was going to post for this, so when I find them, I will add them. We have made: rain sticks kaleidoscopes marble runs and we have also cut the tubes and made them into flowers or snowflakes like these. If you would like to visit and link to some of our previous What Would You Do With It Wednesdays, please click here.

Yes, WE CLIMB UP THE SLIDE!

Yes, we do climb up the slide. We climb up the slide here at Child Central Station in the backyard... We climb up the slides when we are at the park..... and here are a few reasons why we think you could reconsider climbing up and allowing the children in your care to climb up the slide too! 1. Climbing up the Slide uses MUSCLE! Young children need to be active and climbing up the slide requires a lot of muscle and coordination. It is not an easy feat- and requires strength, concentration, determination, and will power. 2. Climbing up the Slide is RISKY! Yes- climbing up the slide is potentially risky, but so is sliding down! Your job as a caregiver is to carefully observe and monitor the situation, to be close by- but not to interfere unless necessary. Part of a child's learning process must include managing risks- climbing up the slide is a perfect way to practice this skill. 3. Climbing up the Slide involves potential CONFLICT! It is al

Making Moon Mud!

We usually make our moon sand with cornstarch , sand, and baby oil. However a blog reader commented that when they make their moon sand- they use water instead of oil. So, of course, my first thought was- why make moon sand when you could make MOON MUD? And so you have it- our homemade moon mud! Basically, it ends up being a sandy- runny oobleck! It acts kind of like a solid- and kind of like a liquid..... Now, I'm sure I will get all kinds of questions on the exact recipe and proportions to make this stuff..... The truth is, we rarely measure. We just mix it up until it looks and feels about right! Today, we made ours with too much water. (It was an experiment.) So, we removed some off the top. After we were done playing in the mud- we let it sit. A little bit more of the water evaporated while we napped.... Then, this afternoon- It was perfect! Hard as a rock on the bottom, until you dig into grab it... Then....

Ms. Amy's Blog @Child Central Station

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