We scooped up eight tadpoles from a water feature at our local nursery, did a very quick bit of research on tadpole care, and set them up in a bowl with some boiled lettuce.
Changing their water proved tricky for us, and we managed to lose three of the eight over the weeks. I was worried that Hope would be devastated, but fortunately she understood that if we hadn't brought them home they probably wouldn't have lived as long as they did in the first place.
In a couple of weeks they had easily tripled in size and were growing legs! Oh, the excitement! We left for vacation with five tadpoles, two with legs.
When we returned, we had three tadpoles, one frog, and one unaccounted for! Since this is exactly where we found the frog, perched on the side of his make-shift tank, we can only assume the other one must have made his way out and been eaten by Penelope :(
Growing an actual frog amped up the kids' level of interest. We moved "Leaf" over into a frog habitat, complete with fruit flies to eat (gag) and the kids eagerly cheered on the remaining tadpoles. Grant even drew this cutest picture EVER of a tadpole with legs. Love it!
Slowly but surely, the remaining tadpoles made the big change. At the end of the six weeks or so, we became a little attached to Leaf, Struggle, Plate, and Spot Jr. (all named by Hope, of course).
Our original plan was to release them into the pond near our house, but Uncle E and Aunt K graciously offered to adopt the frogs as pets! Win-win! Now we can visit them whenever we want, but I don't have to have a tank of frogs on my kitchen counter anymore - and that makes me very happy, indeed.
Despite the assorted ickiness of tadpole and frog care, it was totally worth it. Hope and Grant got such a thrill out of it, and learned some things too!
1 comment:
You and C are the MOST wonderful parents! I love how you show the kids so much and encourage them in all their interests.
This is a beautiful little story.
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