Last Updated on June 20, 2024 by Michelle
I’m learning to enjoy a lot of things these days that are… well… pretty unenjoyable.
Cow patties, for example.
They smell awful.
But the lady who produces them–Scout, our sweet dairy cow–also produces wonderful milk, which in turn helps me produce some amazing ice cream. So I’ve learned to enjoy cleaning out her stall. To be totally up front, though, Scout belongs to my 15-year-old farmer, Kayla, who saved up for Scout, and her hay, and her fencing, since she was 9. So I honestly don’t do the bulk of the cow-pattie removal. That of course also makes it more enjoyable for me. (If you’d like to meet Kayla and all of her farm animals, plus get a little insight into her entrepreneurial spirit that helps run our homestead, take a peek at Kayla’s endeavors here.)
So studying slimy amphibians is a walk in the park after doing the hard work around a farm. But this whole homesteading life is still new.
So it’s still an exhilarating sensation to me (aka a born-and-bred suburban girl) to slowly pull giant, two-story-tall doors across their squeaky track. It’s an amazing thing (at least to a mid-atlantic, grew-up-in-a-chain-linked-fenced-tiny-yarded-development kinda girl) to say “I… Own… A Barn.”
But last month, while closing those difficult doors, I had an extra treat. I was serenaded with a soothing song. The spring peepers were back in our neck of the woods, and in actuality of course the males weren’t singing to me, but to the females, doing their best to attract one with all their melodious charm.
So over the next few days we pulled out some books (see my list here for our favorite you-can-hold-it-in-your-hand, real book resources for nature study), pursued some websites, and added a new page to Our Backyard Book—a treasured homeschool heirloom that I’ve written about many times before.
If you have an aversion to “slimy things,” Mom, you really need to read my post that Tauna asked me to share on Proverbial Homemaker today. If you still believe that old wives tale about getting warts from frogs, trust me, you’re safe. If, on the other hand, you think kissing a toad will turn your husband into prince charming, well, I can’t help you with that one.
But I can help you with:
5 reasons you really should study amphibians, slimy or not…
3 simple steps to start your study today…
8 of my family’s favorite nature study books, and
my FREE, printable amphibian ID page that you can enjoy completing with a child who would like to learn about slimy amphibians… in fact, I bet you’ll wind up enjoying it too.
So take a second to peruse my amphibian-affiliated musings as a contributing writer over on Proverbial Homemaker today. I’m gonna go clean a cow’s stall now… and enjoy it.
Meanwhile, if you and a child or grandchild try out my FREE printable amphibian ID page please let me know some slimy facts you enjoy learning together!
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Be sure to follow along right here, on SoulyRested.com, for more nature study resources! (Just enter your email and click the “FollowThisBlog” in the right-hand column. A few times a month I’ll share tips on Keeping It Simple from my New England homestead.) It’s super easy, and then you won’t miss any of the fun nature study resources that I share here. And—hopefully to be unveiled soon—a complete nature study resource for even the least science-oriented parent (or grandparent) ever. Really.
As soon as you follow along on SoulyRested.com (by clicking “FollowThisBlog” in the right-hand column), you can snag another FREE printable that will get you started on an unbelievably easy, unlimitedly rewarding journey of nature study with a child. And even the least science-oriented parent (or grandparent) ever can dive right in.
And love it.
Really.
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“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you… In His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.” Job 12:7-10
Amphibians are not my favorite types of animals, especailly not when they are in a pool! At swim team today a frog hopped in the pool and tried to join us. Fortunatley, he was safely removed from the pool 🙂
These printables could be very useful for my brothers and I to use when we go frogging at our neighbor’s pond. I may not love these slimy creatures but they sure are uniquely created by God.
Yes, Rebekah a pond would be a much better place to meet an amphibian than at your pool–for his sake as well as yours. 🙂 Let me know something fun you and your brothers learn if you decide to try out the printable this summer at the pond!
This is fantastic! My kids love creepy, crawly, slimy things! I’m also new to farming. We just moved to a farm in April from the hustle and bustle of Atlanta!
We moved to our homestead from the suburban life right outside of Philly two years ago… May 4, 2014… a date I will always cherish. 🙂 How on earth are you harvesting honey after just moving in? Did you adopt the hives with the farm? Please check back and let me know something cool you learned if you decide to try out the amphibian ID printable!
I have three boys and learned early on that I had to get over my slimy aversion… it just wouldn’t go over well.
And once you got over the aversion, truth be told, you kinda like the slimy stuff too, right? I know that’s the case for me. So what was the creepiest crawly a son ever brought home?