Spring into March
It's true, it should be happening any day now. The transition from winter to spring sometimes feels like a giant leap with flowers bursting into bud, and sometimes feels like winter doesn't want to leave!
Let's bask in the beauty of the changing seasons and make the most of the opportunities that spring presents. It's a time of new beginnings and a reminder of the cyclical nature of life and the interconnectedness of ecosystems. With that in mind, let's dive headfirst into the wonderful world of frogs.
Frog Ladders
Click on the link below to read the article from the Reuters website.
When you've read it, have fun creating your own idea! Hoppy... um Happy Designing!
Pond Dipping
As soon as Spring starts bouncing through the world, it's a great time to go pond dipping! Here are some of our finds from trips to Peatlands Park, in Dungannon, Northern Ireland.
Just look at these wriggling tadpoles! They're making the surface of the bog pond seethe with their wriggling!
So, this is definitely not a tadpole, but do you know what it is?
It's the larva of a chironimid fly, sometimes known as a rat tailed maggot. It is about 10mm long, and if you closely, you might see it move a little!
Chironomid flies are very important to freshwater ecosystems because they're eaten by lots of different creatures from fish to frogs.
This little guy isn't a tadpole (obviously!) but he is a tadpole snail!
He is a detritivore, which means that he helps keep the water clean by breaking down old plants and algae. This little guy is keeping the water clean for our tadpoles! Good job!
Frolics of Frogs TopicPack
Who knows what the Beelzebufo was? Nothing less than a magnificent beach ball sized prehistoric toad my friends!
Take a hop, skip and a big old froggy jump into spring with the Frog TopicPack by TopicTeach. The world of frogs is such a perennial home ed topic, but it can be challenging to involve the whole family once you’ve learnt about life cycles and made cute frog crafts for a year or two… That’s where TopicTeach comes in, with a range of interesting and quirky facts.
This TopicPack includes three TopicBooks. The first takes a look at froggy lifecycles but also the slightly weirder ways that some frogs have to look after their spawn. We discuss the differences between frogs and toads, move on to frog skin - defence, camouflage, see through or glow in the dark… Frog gods, frog jumps, frog poisons, frogs taking over the country… We look at it all. We even have a look at the lesser known relatives of amphibians, caecillians and axolotls.
In the second TopicBook, we look at the famous Russian fable of Vasilisa the Wise, learn about famous artist who created art to accompany the tale, and explore the Russian alphabet. The Baba Yaga and her chicken leg house is my favourite character!
The third TopicBook includes a special recipe for Toad in the Hole, a rather odd looking drink that we promise isn't actually frogspawn, and some amazing food related frog facts. This TopicBook was created with Annette Rugyendo, a Registered Dietician, who has given us her specially created recipe for Toad in the Hole. (No toads will be harmed in the preparation of this dinner!)
