Who’s hiding behind that log? Inside that tall grass? Under that lily pad? Lift-the-flap to find out! Little Green Frog by Ginger Swift is a warm and simple lift-the-flap book that is perfect for following basic toddler activities and making memories with your child. These books have flaps on the pages that children can lift to reveal hidden pictures or surprises, giving the story a fun, interactive peek-a-boo feel.
If you have a toddler who isn’t interested in reading just yet, crack open a lift-the-flap book. If your kids are anything like mine, they love touching things, making these books a great way to get them interested in reading. They get to become part of the reading experience. Lift-the-flap books draw the reader in and keep their attention, setting the stage for low-key toddler activities and genuine connection, the root of My Book Bud.
In this post, you’ll get four straightforward toddler activities related to Little Green Frog by Ginger Swift. These activities were specifically created with antsy toddlers in mind. They are short and brief, but also extremely effective at building a strong literacy foundation. You’ll find ways to infer, observe, describe, and explore, all while creating lasting memories. So, who’s ready to take a peek behind those flaps and dive into the world of Little Green Frog?
Table of Contents
Little Green Frog
Author: Ginger Swift
Illustrator: Olga Utchenko
Published by Cottage Door Press, 2017
Summary: Down by the pond, there’s so much to explore! Follow the little green frog as he hops through the day, discovering the wonders of his world. As night falls, a new little creature takes center stage!
Skills to Tackle with Basic Toddler Activities (Little Green Frog):
Inference: Best for ages 2.5-5
This story is designed to encourage readers to make inferences. An inference is when the reader discovers something that is not directly stated by using background knowledge and text evidence. We do this all the time outside of reading, making it a core skill to learn both in literacy and in real life.
Inference Example:
If you see your child’s leg is completely scribbled in with purple marker, you can infer that they drew on themselves (yes, I am speaking from experience—multiple experiences). They didn’t have to tell you this. You made the inference based on the evidence in front of you and your background knowledge of what marker looks like on skin.
In Little Green Frog, the first half of a sentence appears on the left side of the open page spread, and the sentence is completed when the reader lifts the flap on the right side, revealing what’s hidden beneath. The first half of the sentence gives a clue about what the reader will discover underneath the flap. Using the clues and the illustrations, the readers can make inferences about what is under each flap even before lifting them up. So fun!
Incorporating approachable toddler activities like these while you read expands your child’s foundational reading skills in a meaningful way.
Example Conversation:
- Parent: Let’s look at this page. There is a pond covered in beautiful lily pads and a floating log. What animal might sit on a lily pad or log in a pond?
- Wait to lift the flap until after your child has given an answer. There could be multiple correct answers to this question, so don’t tell them they are wrong if they say something that might also make sense.
- This requires a lot of background knowledge. If your child cannot come up with an answer on their own, give a few choices. Make some of the choices outlandish and silly so that the correct answer stands out, such as: a frog, a cow, or a shark.
- Child: A frog!
- Parent: This page tells us there is something splashing around and then diving back down into the pond. What animal do you think would do that?
- Follow the same method as above if your child needs extra help.
- Child: A fishy!
- Parent: Look! At the end of the story, it tells us that the raccoon isn’t sleeping. Why would the raccoon be awake at night?
- This is a great way to introduce the term “nocturnal” to your child and explain that some animals sleep all day and come out at nighttime. If this idea is really interesting to your child, encourage them to explore and search for other nocturnal animals and the reasons why they are nocturnal.
- Child: Raccoons sleep all day and play all night!
Making inferences doesn’t have to be flashy. These very easy questions are a great way to push your child’s thinking without overwhelming them.
Observation: Best for ages 2-5
Readers make observations when they notice details in the pictures and words as they read. Observations help readers predict, infer, and analyze the text. Low-pressure toddler activities such as this will help your child slow down, stop, and notice beyond just a first glance. As someone who is not very detail oriented myself, activities like this are even helpful for me!
Little Green Frog is a “chunky” board book, meaning it is smaller and thicker than the typical board book, appealing most to a very young audience. Even though this book is short and “chunky,” it is chock-full of beautiful illustrations with tons to observe and look at.
Whether this book is an introduction or your child is an expert on “pond life,” this is a great book to observe all of the different creatures and things found in a pond ecosystem.
In this activity, the goal is for your child to observe more than meets the eye at first glance. The author tries to draw your attention to specific elements in the book with her words, but the illustrator includes so many charming intricacies that shouldn’t be missed! Have your child put on their detective hat and “hunt” for new discoveries that might be missed on the first read!
Example Conversation:
- Parent: I have an idea! Let’s pretend to be detectives! There are so many cool things to discover throughout the book. Let’s look for things we missed the first time we read it. On this page, the author and illustrator want us to focus on the frog, but what else do you see?
- Child: I see lily pads, a lot of pretty flowers, and a sleeping raccoon!
- Parent: Great work, detective! It looks like some of the flowers are growing in the grass, but some of them look like they are floating in the water! I wonder why! Why do you think the raccoon is sleeping on this page?
- If your child wants to explore some of these things further, encourage them to learn more! Motivating your child to conduct research on this interest will help to blend fiction and nonfiction together.
- Child: We just talked about how raccoon’s are awake at night. I think the raccoon is sleeping because it is daytime. It wouldn’t make sense for the raccoon to be awake on that page because it is light out. I know the raccoon shows up later on in the story and it is nighttime.
- Here you help your child understand that sometimes there are little “easter eggs” hidden throughout a text that will help the reader make predictions and inferences about what will happen later on in the story.
- Parent: There is so much happening around this little pond! What other things do you notice on this page?
- Child: On this page, I think they want me to look at the fish, but I also saw a lizard at the bottom of the page. I think it’s a lizard, but I’m not sure!
- Parent: I actually think it’s a salamander! They can live on both land and in ponds because they are amphibians like frogs!
- This is a great way to introduce a unique type of animal group like amphibians.
Encourage your child to look at each page with an observant eye. Tap into your child’s curiosity about different things and support their desire to explore their questions further.
Adjectives: Best for ages 3-5
Adjectives are describing words. They describe nouns (people, places, and things) and add depth and “color” to the text.
Adjective Examples:
Example sentence: The big, friendly dog barked. The adjectives are big and friendly.These words are describing the noun: dog. They help the reader paint a picture in his or her head and add substance to the sentence. Without them, the sentence would be boring and lack imagery as it would simply read: The dog barked.
This book uses simple adjectives to describe what is seen around the pond making it the perfect way to introduce basic toddler activities that will deepen your child’s understanding of language and reading. Challenge your child to point out the describing words, but to also come up with describing words where they may be lacking.
Example Conversation:
- Parent: It says in the book that the frog is little and green. What else can you say about the frog?
- If your child is a bit older, you can ask the leading question, “What words are used to describe the frog?”
- Child: He has long legs, yellow eyes and a big mouth!
- Encourage your child to use those describing words. In the response above, long, yellow, and big are all adjectives! If they do not get there on their own, help lead them there.
- Parent: This page has a silvery fish! What else can you say about the fishy?
- Child: It has a big head and small fins.
- Parent: I noticed a turtle on this page. What can you tell me about the turtle?
- Child: It has a bumpy shell, droopy eyes, and long neck.
You and your child can have a conversation about a complex topic in a simple and informal way without ever mentioning the word adjective. Toddler activities such as this are a great way to enrich your child’s reading experience in a supportive way that breeds connection.
A sure fire way to really bond is to be silly. My kids absolutely crack up if they are able to use “slightly naughty” words. So if you can sneak in a describing word like “stinky, icky, or gross,” and combine them with an over the top gesture, you are on your way to giggle town on the connection express.
Free Printable!
Use the free printable to play adjective bingo! Cut out the bingo boards and give one to each player. Cut out and shuffle the clue cards, and read the clues aloud one at a time. For example: “I am soft—what am I?” Mark the matching adjective on your board when you think you have it. Keep reading clues until someone gets a full row—BINGO!
Expansion Activity: Best for ages 2-5
Let’s get hoppin’ and explorin’! Pretend to be the frog and “hop” around the house making inferences about different objects you’ve hidden. Just like the frog uncovers common creatures found in his habitat, your child can look for and discover different things found in their own environment. Engaging toddler activities don’t require tons of prep and planning. Just look around your house to unlock tons of potential!
For this activity, you can use Post-it Notes, index cards, or loose leaf. Use these to cover up common objects throughout the house such as a spoon, a remote control, keys, etc. Then, have your child “hop” around the house to look for these hidden objects. When he or she gets to the object, tell them to make an inference about what is behind the object before lifting it up.
Try covering up items that are typically found in the same spot all of the time. For example, if you always leave your car keys in a bowl next to the front door, your child likely knows this. Your child will see that the item covered up is in the mud room, next to the door, and in a bowl. Using prior knowledge and the evidence in front of them, your child can infer that the item is your keys! Once the first object is found, tell your child to “hop” onto the next one!
Add a Playful Twist
Pretend to guess something completely ridiculous, like saying, “I bet it’s hiding the toilet!” This will encourage your child to correct you with their own logical inference and hopefully get a laugh.
This activity should be fun, but it should also help put together several important skills! Adapt this activity for younger kids by giving them choices when they reach a sticky note, such as,” Do you think that is a fork or a toothbrush?” They will hopefully determine that they’re in the bathroom and a toothbrush makes more sense.
For younger kids, you can also stay in one room such as the kitchen or bathroom so they only have to think about household items in one room versus the whole house.
With older kids, you can try coming up with some simple riddles for a challenge. Once they reach an object, a riddle on the card might read, “I am tall and skinny, and I help clean out the stink twice a day.” Since the object is found in the bathroom, in conjunction with the riddle, they will hopefully infer it is a toothbrush!
To Wrap Things Up:
Little Green Frog by Ginger Swift is more than meets the eye at first glance. You know the saying, never judge a book by its cover. Well, that truly does apply here as these fun and low-stress toddler activities will have you laughing and learning. So, go hop to your bookshelf, and connect in ways you never would have expected!
Join and connect! Learn how to “water” your growing book bud with connection. For tips and ideas sent straight to your inbox, just add your email below.
