Paper plate toad
Toads are such overlooked creatures.
They're a little lumpier and a little drabber than frogs, so they tend to be viewed as not as cute.
However, we love toads! So we wanted to make a fun toad craft that you can do at home.
You'll need:
A paper plate
Crayons or markers
Scissors
Brown construction paper
Scissors
Glue or tape
Begin by folding your paper plate in half. Open it up and color half of the interior pink and add a red tongue, for the inside of the toad's mouth.
Fold your paper plate down again and color the paper plate brown. Add nostrils and eyes.
Cut construction paper into four strips. If you don't have construction paper, color computer paper the same brown color that you colored the paper plate.
Accordion fold each of the four strips of paper.
Glue each of the strips on the back of the toad to make legs.
Tell apart Iowa toads
Al and Wally, named for conservationist Alfred Wallace, are two Great Plains toads (Anaxyrus cognatus) that live at the Dickinson County Nature Center. Four different toads live in Iowa — Great Plains toad, American toad, Fowler’s toad and Woodhouse’s toad — and they can be difficult to tell apart. Here are a few key ways Read More »
Read MoreMake a toad hand puppet
Since we talked today about five facts that will make you love toads (read the blog post here), we decided to make a toad-themed craft. If you look up toad crafts, there are not a lot out there! Like we mentioned in the blog post, toads tend to get overlooked in favor of their more Read More »
Read MoreFive facts that will make you like toads
Because frogs are brightly colored, they tend to be looked on with more awe than toads. However, American toads have some pretty neat attributes when you get to know them. They taste bad. American toads are covered in red and yellow wart-looking spots that actually contain glands that secrete poison. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt Read More »
Read MoreIt really works: Leaping frog origami
I am by no means an origami expert, but I always feel accomplished when I complete a new project. We’ve tried butterfly origami (you can find that blog entry here) and today decided to attempt making interactive origami — a leaping frog! Steps 1-4: Fold your paper hot dog, then crease the right and left Read More »
Read MoreFrogs are the real living dead
The title “living dead” is very Halloween-appropriate. And that’s exactly what northern leopard frogs are in the wintertime. Northern leopard frogs are native to northwest Iowa and are aquatic creatures, meaning they live in the water. Like American bullfrogs, which are not native to northern Iowa, northern leopard frogs will hibernate underwater. (See a video Read More »
Read More