We have tons of little bitty baby frogs in our yard and flower bed right now. I love the natural world and want to instill a love for it in our kids' hearts too so everytime I see an opportunity to get a closer look at a living thing I try to take it. Unless it's a spider in our house and then it must die.
ANYway, Jake has been having a lot of fun catching baby frogs and then letting them go. He's very gentle with them, calls them "little guys" and is not in the least bit scared of them.
Imagine my surprise a couple weeks ago when I saw a full grown frog on the playground at work and decided to share my love of the natural world with our three year olds. I really thought they would love it and would think I was the coolest teacher EVER! So I caught the froggie, called all the kids around me over and opened my hands to show them my find. As I awaited their appreciative ooh's and ahh's what I got instead were shrieks of fright, running away and a general sense of mayhem. I could not believe they were freaking out so much and looking at me like I was a monster of some sort rather than the coolest teacher EVER. Evidently, my little frog friend was taken aback as well and he lost the entire contents of his bladder all over my hands and shorts. There I stood with frog pee all over me trying to act cool like it wasnt' FREAKING me out because I was trying to get the kids to be calm. And there stood my friend/co-teacher Leslie looking at me shaking her head saying something like "that frog just peed all over you." Yes, well that is the price I'm willing to pay to turn teachable moments into nightmarish scenes that these kids will probably be remembering in therapy someday. It's like I always say "Play hard or go home." I don't even know what that means but I am so proud of my little boy for not being scared of frogs. He may be afraid to go on a hayride but he can pick up frogs with the best of them.
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