#MathMonday

Let’s talk about conservation, counting and frogs!

Why are frogs important other than being cute and greenish? “Frogs and toads can be used as indicator species because they are vulnerable to changes in the atmosphere, the land, or the water.” https://www.naturewatch.ca/frogwatch/.

As reported on WAMU (American University Radio) this morning, “[T]he number of frogs in an area can serve as a good indicator of overall environmental health. There’s been a worldwide decline in amphibians, [Scientist] Gauza says, with one out of every three amphibians at risk of going extinct. ‘We could even be facing the greatest loss of species since the dinosaurs,’ she says.” https://wamu.org/news/16/05/09/when_dc_frogs_call_for_mates_these_human_volunteers_respond

How can our families help? We can join a local chapter of FrogWatch USA or start our own. This organization teaches volunteers how to recognize the different sounds of different kinds of frogs. We can also learn to count all of the different songs we hear at one time. And that’s the tricky part.  

Count & Draw Frogs:
For young children, let’s start out by drawing frogs. How many? Check out this link to see how many species of frogs live in your area:  https://www.aza.org/states-and-territories/. Help your child draw that same number of frogs. Then let them listen to the different sounds of each frog on these links: https://www.aza.org/states-and-territories/

Make a Sound Log:
Take your child outside after sunset to listen to all of the different sounds in your area.  What do they hear? How many different sounds? Are they frogs, animals, insects, cars, barking dogs, or what?

Encourage your little one write down the number of different sounds they hear for one week by a sound log. Now – in addition to math -- they’re engaged in hands-on science learning by making observations and recording data.

Have fun and please share with us what you find!

Liv hunting for the sounds of nature here. I had to keep reminding her to be quiet in order to hear the "secret songs" of nature.