We have have been having fun learning about frogs and the frog life cycle. On a recent day I decided to extend the frog learning with a measurement and gross motor activity…Frog Jump!
To play I marked a starting line with painter’s tape on the floor and gathered a frog cut out and a measuring tape.
The kids took turns standing at the line and jumping forward as far as they could. I had my oldest demonstrate how to bend her legs and jump and then we marked the spot where she landed with another piece of tape.
Then they measured how far she jumped with the frog.
Using something other than a ruler to measure an object or distance is called non standard measurement. It’s a great way for young kids to begin to understand the concepts of length, width, and height.
After we determined how many “frogs” she jumped we then measured the distance in inches with the tape measure.
They took many turns jumping and measuring and got in lots of gross motor and math practice!
When the floor was covered in tape pieces the kids pretended the pieces were lily pads. They were quite engaged in their pretend play adventure and had lots of fun!
Looking for simple ways to add movement and learning into your day makes it much easier to accomplish! Kids can practice non standard measurement almost anywhere with whatever you have on hand, like sugar packets at a restaurant or crayons in a doctor’s office.
More Frog Themed Activities for Preschoolers:
Frog Life Cycle Books for Kids
Art Activity for Children: Frog Foot Prints
JDaniel4's Mom says
May 15, 2013 at 10:26 pmThis looks like so much fun! What a wonderful way to work on measuring.
Megan Sheakoski says
May 16, 2013 at 9:09 pmThanks so much! They had a lot of fun with it and learned a lot at the same time!
maryanne @ mama smiles says
May 17, 2013 at 10:27 pmWhat a fun measuring activity – and I love your pretty floors!
Megan Sheakoski says
May 17, 2013 at 11:34 pmThanks! 🙂
Marissa says
July 27, 2015 at 12:52 pmLove this idea! I was just looking for some fun frog inspired activities and crafts, and stumbled across your post. I love it. We are going to do it down the driveway with chalk to help keep track
Thanks for sharing!
Marissa
Megan Sheakoski says
July 27, 2015 at 2:51 pmOoooooh! We’ll have to try it in the driveway too! Thanks for the idea!
Lorel says
May 4, 2014 at 8:32 amI am going to use this great activity to teach my daughter the difference between inches, feet, & yards. Thank you for this hands on idea!
Megan Sheakoski says
May 4, 2014 at 4:32 pmThat’s a great idea!