How to Put Together a Toddler Frog Activity at the Water Table

Last Updated on March 24, 2021 by Sheryl Cooper

Inside: This toddler frog activity is super easy to set up using a tub of water. Add squeezers and strainers for some fine motor strengthening!

Learning with water is always fun for toddlers. You might recall our simple toddler ocean sensory bin.

To touch the water, to scoop it and pour it back into the bin.

To have items to hold in the hands.

Anytime I set up a water table, I think about this and make sure I meet those goals when planning a new one.

That’s exactly what I did with this toddler frog activity.

I put together an activity that invited them to touch, to explore, to pick up the pretend frogs after singing “Five Green Speckled Frogs” at circle time.

This toddler frog activity is perfect for the spring when learning about nature!

How to Put Together a Toddler Frog Activity at the Water Table

Supplies needed:

• Water bin (this one is our favorite)
• Big plastic frogs
• Something to catch the frogs with (we used bug tongs and strainers)
• Something to put the frogs in (we used sorting bowls)

Setting up this toddler frog activity:

Pour a shallow amount of water into your bin. Add sorting bowls, scoops and strainers to the water.

Or, if you happen to have a tray included in your water bin, place the items on it.

Put the frogs into the water.

Circle time:

I love to connect our activities to books, songs, or finger plays, so before I invited our toddlers to play with the water table, I got out my Five Green Specked printable and turned on the song.

By the way, if you haven’t shared this counting fingerplay with your toddlers, I highly recommend it.

It’s a fun way expose them to numbers 1-5!

The activity:

Inviting toddlers to this activity is quite simple. Show them the frogs in the water and ask how can the frogs be removed from the water and placed in the sorting bowls?

Because this age loves to scoop, removing the frogs from the water is a delight!

The goal is to transfer each frog from the water to one of the sorting bowls.

How to add even more fine motor for those who are ready:

This activity can easily be adapted for older toddlers and preschoolers by using a dropper.

This is one of my favorite fine motor tools and we use it often in our water table and also with art activities such as when we dropped watercolors onto paper towels.

After all the frogs are out of the water, provide droppers.

If this is their first time using the droppers, they will need to be shown how to squeeze and release the water.

This might take a few attempts, perhaps more.

But with repetition they should be able to master it.

And perhaps your children will decide water needs to be dropped into a frog’s mouth, like ours did. 🤣🤣

Your toddlers might even ask you for a towel to dry the wet frogs.

Mine did.

And all the frogs got properly dried by the children.

This is why I love to stay close and observe. They decided more was needed and I accommodated.

More frog activities:

Frog on a Log Counting Art Activity

Frog Puppet

Free frog printables:

Frogs and Lily Pads Counting Cards

More Circle Time Props!

Keep your toddlers and preschoolers engaged during circle time with props to favorite songs and rhymes!