May 13 is Frog Jumping Day!

What's a group of frogs called? What's the longest distance a frog has ever jumped? How many species of frogs are there? How do frogs breathe? My kids are full of questions like these and today is the perfect day to explore &  discover the answers.

Who knew there was a day dedicated to FROGS?!! And that the reason is based on a literary work??!

Mark Twain’s first short story was first published in 1865 as “Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog”. Later, he published it as “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”. It is also known under a third title “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”. But nobody seems to know why we celebrate it and why it falls on May 13th!

So how could you celebrate today besides donning green and hopping around? Leap frog is silly and works on gross motor skills. But how about turning it into a STEM experiment by having your kids measure the distance that they jump using a tape measure?

And of course, read some frog books like this Tadpole & Frogs book. Hardbound for just $4.99. Here are some Quicklinks on Usborne UK's site where you can continue to explore frogs.
http://www.usborne.com/quicklinks/eng/catalogue/catalogue.aspx?cat=1&loc=uk&id=1073

Or how about folding those origami frogs that jump when you tap their backside? This site shows you some fun games to play after you've folded them. http://www.itsybitsyfun.com/blog/how-to-make-an-origami-frog-that-jumps

These plastic cup jumping frogs look like so much fun! http://deceptivelyeducational.blogspot.com/2014/05/plastic-cup-jumpin-frogs.html

Whatever you do, hop back here and let us know what things you tried today!!