Fun with Frogs

We had a great time with this frog project the other day. Seth actually LOVED it, which is the first time I've gotten him to LOVE an art project. So, I thought I would share the step by step instructions for anyone looking for a good project to do with boys. I mean, what boy doesn't love frogs?

Supplies Needed:
Paper (We used butcher paper, but water color would also be good. I just wanted big pieces of paper so that we'd have lots of room for frogs)
Green Tempera paint
Potatoes, cut in half long ways and patted dry
Paint Brush
Sponge Brush (This is optional you could also just use a regular paint brush)
Black Permanent Marker
Paper Plate
Card Board for Legs
Bubble Wrap and Coregated Cardboard for designs on Frogs
Red Permanent Marker (Optional)

First, paint your piece of paper green using your sponge brushes (or regular brushes) with with very watered down green tempera paint. I told the boys were painting green slimy pond water for our frogs because frogs love to live in green slimy pond water. They really liked that idea.
Then using full strength green tempera paint coat the cut side of potato for the body of your frog and begin stamping your paper. You'll want to leave plenty of room between your frogs so that you have room for the legs.

Your paper should look something like this.
Now, frog bodies are not smooth, so we used bubble wrap and corregated cardboard to make marks on their bodies while they were still wet (the cardboard is just the inside of a Starbucks cozy).
Next you'll need two pieces of cardboard for the legs. One needs to be longer than the other and you'll bend them in half. The shorter one makes the front legs and the longer one makes the back legs.
Just dip them in your paint and then twist them on your paper like you see in the picture below.
After your legs are done you need frog toes! Use the end of your paint brush to make little dots. Just dip the end of it in your paint and make three little dots at the end of each leg.
Finally, when your paint is dry use a black permanent marker to draw eyes. You could also do red eye tree frogs and use a red marker.
Here are some pictures of the boys having fun making the Frog project.



Seth decided his frogs needed tongues!!