Summary and Bible Verse: OK . . . time out for the Bible verse. I was puzzled as to what verse to give to you in order to use The Icky Sticky Frog in such a way as to draw your child nearer the living truth in the Bible. The Icky Sticky Frog is a simple book that shows the reality of the food chain that the Lord created. However . . . discussing the food chain with a 2- or 3-year old would be a bit of a stretch. A 4-year old would just begin to understand this concept. But as I searched Scripture, the Lord led me to Scripture I have been studying in my own personal quiet times! Turn to Matthew 6 . . . the great Sermon on the Mount.
- Give us today our daily bread. Matthew 6:11 – just as the frog waits for his food, so we can be content with what the Lord has graciously given us. We don’t HAVE to have dessert with every meal.
- Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6: 19-21 – though the frog obviously is lacking in possessions (unless you count lily pads), I did find myself wondering . . . does he only think about food? Like my children often do? Wondering if there is a bigger and better snack? Additionally, this verse opens up a great opportunity to talk about how what we spend most of our time doing, reveals what is most important to us . . . what our treasure truly is.
- Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? Matthew 6: 25-27 – remember that old song, “Don’t worry, be happy!” Well, don’t worry . . . spend time with your child talking to God about things they are worried about.
- Moses said to Pharaoh, “I leave to you the honor of setting the time for me to pray for you and your officials and your people that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile.” (Exodus 8:9) – if prayer can make frogs disappear than it can take sin away too!
Allow the rest of this post to be a dose of reality. (Perhaps that is why I chose to focus on Scripture instead!) When you read someone’s blog, filled with happy children doing marvelous activities well beyond their age . . . don’t you just wonder . . . wish . . . hope that you could do that in your home? But alas you know it will fail?
Allow me -- little ‘ol Totally Tots writer -- who is supposed to have beautiful children who LOVE to read books and accomplish coordinating activities, give you a peak into my occasional reality.
I had a Tot who didn’t want to cooperate with The Icky Sticky Frog! I’m going to blame it on the fact that we have been potty training.
Counting Frogs
Supplies:
- frog notepad or frog printable from File Folder Fun
- dark marker
- scissors if you are using Valerie’s printable
- frogs (we used a toob of frogs)
Directions
- Decide what you are going to count to with your Tot. We had 12 frogs so . . . we counted to 12. As I wrote the number on the frog, I handed it to Gabe.
- My primary goal (s) in this activity was to have him repeat the number as I handed it to him and for him to begin to recognize the number.
- After I had handed all of the numbers to him, his job was to place a “real” frog onto each piece of frog paper. Simple.
If you have older children, involve them in Tot School by having them place the frogs in numerical order. I ended up making over 30 frogs my eldest to count.
How Many Frogs on the Lily Pad?
Supplies
- frog stickers (or make your own)
- green construction paper with a lily pad drawn on it
Directions
- Increase those fine motor skills! Most children *heart* stickers! Give your child some frog stickers and see how many frogs can fit on one lily pad.
- If they aren’t interested, try to have an older child entice them . . .
- Or better yet, take away the distracting {vacation} toys.
- You can expand this sticker activity to include graphing frogs and creating math problems.
Jumping
And if you know someone who happens to have a collection of frogs . . .
Then, have your Tot try out his/her jumping skills! Pretend to be a frog and hop over other frogs or lily pads!
Want to see what's coming next (and books we've done in the past)?
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