Hip, Herp, Hurray!

Here at the Lloyd Center for the Environment, our educators work with children from a wide range of age-groups. Our herpetology, the study of reptiles and amphibians, lesson ‘Hip, Herp, Hurray!’ is designed for the littlest of our students, the preschoolers. As always, we strive to make this lesson both fun and informative.

To keep these especially young students both entertained and engaged, we divide the lesson into various segments and activities, each targeting a different learning style. It is important for these young children to practice describing and identifying sensory experiences. In order to help them imagine various reptile and amphibian characteristics, we use textured objects. By feeling these objects, children get an idea of what a frog’s egg, or a snake’s skin, or a number of other amphibian and reptile textures are like.

Drawing on the children’s ability to make-believe and pretend, our educators also read the story of a frog’s metamorphosis from egg to fully-grown frog. The students each pretend to be the frog, moving in ways that mimic the frog’s changes in development from egg, to tadpole, and to frog. With this activity, the students engage their entire bodies in the learning process, making it easier to recall what changes take place when in the frog life cycle.

Finally, this lesson brings students in contact with live animals, our reptile and amphibian Lloyd Center ambassadors. The most effective wildlife advocates are the animals themselves. Just ask our Box Turtle Norbert—he never fails to inspire awe and appreciation in the students he meets!