Surrey County Childminding Association (SCCMA)

Pototo Printing Frog Life Cycle

Create a picture of the life cycle of a frog with pototoes.

You will need:

Potatoes including new pototoes if possible
A sharp knife and if possible a mandoline

type grater which gives a flat cut
Sponges
Paint in colours green, black, white and orange
Paper - blue sugar paper if available

Small pencil or similar shaped object

What to do to prepare the activity:

Cut new pototoes in half and take off a slice with the grater to give a nice flat cut that will print well.
Select an oval medium sized pototo for the tadpoles body and cut it in half then take off a slice with the grater. Push a pencil end in to the potato to create an eye. Repeat this with the other side of the pototo but give it two eyes (this will form the frogs body).

Prepare a second medium sized potato. Draw a trianglar shape on it and cut the potato away to leave the triangular shape which will form the tadpoles tail.

Prepare a small potato and draw on a leg shape with toes then cut away the excess to form a frog's leg. You could make a slightly larger one for the back legs. 

Place sponges into small trays and add black, green and orange to one sponge in separate areas. Place white paint on another and just green on another. Put out blue sugar paper.

Talk to the children about tadpoles and frogs and read them a book about the life cycle.

What the children do:

Give the children the small potatoes first to place in the white paint and print with them then ask them to use their fingers to add a dot to make the frogs spawn.
Then give the children the potato with one eye to form the body of the tadpole by placing in the black/green paint. Then give them the tail shape to print next to the body.
Repeat the above but add two legs to the body to make a developing frog. Children tend to add the legs to the tail you could ask them first if they remember where the legs grow from.
Finally use the body shape with two eyes to print a frog using the orange paint into the mix and add four legs.
The children can use the green paint to add pond weed to their pictures.
Planning
Birth to Three
A Compent Learner - Being Creative

Foundation Stage
Knowledge and Understanding of the World
Early Learning Goal for Exploration and Investigation