A frog in a sleeping bag?! Or just a froggy party sleepover?

The way this little guy sleeps in his little sleeping bag, often for years, is simply amazing. He has been exquisitely engineered by God, The Master Designer. Share this little engineering marvel with your child – my FREE ‘Frog in a Sleeping Bag’ article for kids is now available in English, French or Spanish – then add some fun and free froggy colouring pages, puzzles, crafts and more to make it a party… enjoy

FROG IN A SLEEPING BAG ~ ARTICLE FOR KIDS ~ FREE PRINTABLE

My free articles for kids are all about giving credit to God as designer, and putting God at the centre of each package. This ‘frog in a sleeping bag’ article is now available in English, French and Spanish. I also send my articles to my other non-English speaking children, but like to include all relevant text within my letter to ensure it is translated. For your homeschool students, you may like to laminate it to keep it looking nice; pop it into a folder with other free articles for kids; make your own DIY Activity Book; and print an extra copy for a friend. You will have to add one photo for this one – and that’s of the actual water-holding (burrowing) frog. Scroll down to see photo suggestions and what I did for my kids. Print on A4 plain or photo paper, add your photo, then laminate for best results. You can add the extra photo before you print the article; draw it (or get your kids to draw it and make it a fun learning opportunity for them, too); or simply print it out, cut and glue it on. Then scroll down this post to find free frog colouring pages, puzzles, craft activities to send with it.

DOWNLOAD: English | French | Spanish

PHOTO SUGGESTIONS

Hibernating Frog / Frog in a Sleeping Bag (main photo)

Water-holding frog (Cyclorana platycephala) click through the slide show to the one on the end at the right, that looks like it is wrapped in plastic – isn’t he gorgeous? :)
Burrowing frog (Cyclorana alboguttata)

Frog Art Gallery (bottom photos)

If you are adding all of your own photos, go for fun and colourful, different frog varieties. I chose 4 different coloured frogs for my ‘Frog Art Gallery’ – green; blue; red and black; and a cute little tyke on a flower. I also draped a fifth frog (green, with blue and orange markings) over the right-hand top edge of the ‘Frog Art Gallery’ header box. Or perhaps you may like to add some cute froggy clip art (this one below is from cutecolors.com).

©cutecolors.com

FROG ~ MORE INFORMATION FOR KIDS

Wonder Frog (creation.com) this amazing frog gives birth through its mouth; from scientists who take the Bible seriously

Frozen Frogs (creation.com) During winter in Alaska, the wood frog (Rana sylvatica) freezes so that it looks like a frog-shaped piece of ice. While frozen, the frog stops breathing, its heart stops beating, its blood stops flowing, and it cannot move. However, when spring arrives, the frog’s body thaws and the frog returns to normal; from scientists who take the Bible seriously

When Frogs Fly (icr.org) Mammals, reptiles, and even amphibians can actually glide through the atmosphere. God’s inventive engineering has equipped these unexpected animals for aerial travel… each newfound aeronautical wonder in the living world offers a fresh example of God’s creativity… The Lord Jesus gets the credit for carefully crafting each of these gliding creatures because “by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth.” We honor Him because “all things were created through Him and for Him.”; from scientists who take the Bible seriously

From a Frog to a… Frog (creation.com) The mouth widens, the tail dissolves, the fly-catching ‘bungy’ tongue develops, nostrils form, and bulging eyes migrate around the head. Lastly, when the lungs mature and four legs have grown, the graduating tadpole celebrates by hopping right out of the water and living on land… the amazing transformation (metamorphosis) is a lot more than skin deep. Virtually every organ and body system is radically reworked; from scientists who take the Bible seriously

Poison Dart Frogs (answersingenesis) Poison dart frogs are hard to miss in the tropical forests where they live. Their skin seems to glow with swirls, spots, and stripes of various colors. They’re beautiful, but their beauty is a warning; from scientists who take the Bible seriously

Poison Dart Frogs – drop dead gorgeous (answersingenesis) over 245 species displaying an astonishing array of colors and potency, including seven deadly frogs. The brilliant colors and patterns range from strawberry red, canary yellow, and sunny orange to metallic green and black with yellow polka-dots; from scientists who take the Bible seriously

Why don’t Poison Dart Frogs poison themselves? (icr.org) Each tiny amphibian holds enough toxin in its skin to kill 10 people… A new study revealed how the frogs survive their own poison, and the answer points to God; from scientists who take the Bible seriously

A sticky solution (answersingenesis) What if we could design tape and adhesives that automatically cleaned themselves every time they got dirty or wet? God invented it first; from scientists who take the Bible seriously

World’s oldest rainforest frog was a… frog (answersingenesis) from scientists who take the Bible seriously; it’s not surprising that these frogs that were stuck in amber were “similar to modern frogs in many ways.” They were just frogs! As with all the kinds God made, frogs remain frogs—and they always will.

Giant Frog Fossil (answersingenesis) A team of American and British scientists discovered a fossil frog so large it’s been dubbed “Beelzebufo,” or the “frog from hell.” The researchers estimate the frog would have weighed in at about 9 lbs (4 kg) and would have been the size of a “squashed beach ball”…

Super-Sticky Spit: How a Frog Gets a Meal (answersingenesis) You’ve probably never thought much about how frogs manage to eat insects, spiders, birds, mice, fish, and even other frogs in the blink of an eye. In fact, you may not have even known they ate such a medley of food. But a frog’s ability to grab and eat such a variety of food—and so quickly—is a testament to the creativity of the Designer; from scientists who take the Bible seriously

Recipe for Frog Foam (icr.org) from scientists who take the Bible seriously; Some frogs build nests to hold their eggs by whipping up a kind of floating foam. A recent study discovered that the proper frothy architecture is only achieved by following precise construction parameters. How did the frogs acquire such a sophisticated building technique?

When a Tadpole turns into a Frog – Is this Evolution? (icr.org) from scientists who take the Bible seriously;

Has it ever rained frogs? (Christiananswers) for something fun and a bit different

Frogs in the Bible (Christiananswers)

FROG ~ COLOURING FOR KIDS ~ FREE PRINTABLE

Tree Frog – colouring (answersingenesis) Biblical perspective; free printable

Tree Frog – colouring (samanthasbell) a gorgeous little guy sitting in a tree; free printable

Frogs and Friends in the Lily Pond – colouring (janbrett) a busy pond scene with frogs, turtles, butterflies, dragonfly, lizards, crustacean, heron; free printable

Frogs peeking over tropical heliconia flowers – colouring (Dover sample)

Frogs on lily pads – colouring (Dover sample) repeating pattern of frogs having fun, with dragonflies zooming around them

Down at the Pond – colouring (frecklebox) frog, turtle, duck, fish jumping, snail, a wooden bridge and a rowboat that can be customised with your child’s name; free printable

Red Eyed Tree Frog – colouring (supercoloring); American Green Tree Frog – colouring with a sweet face; Cute frog – colouring looking directly at you; Frog ready to jump – colouring; Poison Dart Frog – colouring; Green eyed Tree Frog – colouring; Frog lifecycle – colouring; free printable

Panama Golden Frog – colouring (colouringpages) free printable

Frog family – colouring (coloringpages4kids) and there is plenty of room to add a Bible verse; I had to include this one; love the guy at the back with the big cheesy grin; free printable

Frog on lily pad – colouring (coloringcafe) free printable

Raining frogs and fish – colouring (Christiananswers; scroll down or do a CTRL + F page search for ‘frogs’) a little boy holding his umbrella and looking up at the sky; free printable

Poison Frogs – colouring (Dover sample) scientifically accurate drawings of Zatek’s Frog and Golden Frog; also life cycle of a bullfrog to colour

Frogs – colouring (colormountain) free printable

Jazz up your colouring pages (Paper Gifts for Estefany) combine or shrink your colouring pages, add a border, a title, a favourite Bible verse, and even some clip art to make your colouring pages unique and more interesting with this free frame I made up for my own kids, or use the tutorial to make up your own.

FROG ~ PUZZLES FOR KIDS ~ FREE PRINTABLE

Frog to Dragonfly – maze (max7) find the path from the frog to the dragonfly; based on Bible verse Psalm 119:105 – God’s Word is a lamp to my feet; (I am SO enjoying these beautiful puzzles for my kids); free printable;

Frogs sheltering under Mushrooms – maze (max7) based on Bible verse Psalm 32:7; God is my Hiding Place; another great free printable from the same site

Egg Hunt (pdf) spot the 5 different animals who have laid their eggs – frog, turtle, butterfly, birds, deer, bunny, squirrel and water lilies in full colour forest pond scene; beautifully illustrated (cute, too); free printable

Tree Frogs – maze (rangerrick) these 4 tree frogs all tried to catch the same insect and got their tongues in a tangle; in colour; free printable

Frog – find the difference puzzle (supercoloring) find 10 differences in this coloured picture of a frog, pink umbrella and red, green and blue gum boots; Frog – find the difference find 7 differences in this picture of 3 frogs playing with a red bucket filled with water; in colour; free printable

Frog – hidden picture puzzle (topsytales; scroll down) free printable

Frog – activity books (itsybitsyfun) puzzle books; one for younger children with coloring pages, easy spot the difference, simple counting, two fun mazes, drawing activities, tracing letters; and one more advanced puzzle book with word search, word and sentence unscrambles, find the difference, colouring, mazes, skip count; free printable

Frog – maze (kids-n-fun) shaped like a frog; free printable

Frog – dot to dot (samanthasbell) no numbers; free printable

Frog – puzzles (colormountain) easy maze, dot to dot; free printable

Design your own frog puzzles specifically tailored for your child with this easy tutorial. Tip: base your puzzles on the information in my free frog article

FROG ~ CRAFTS / ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS ~ FREE PRINTABLE

Frog – craft/wrapping paper (Paper Gifts for Estefany) With a pale lime green background and bright pink and darker lime green polka dots, it’s perfect to make your own zany froggy crafts, envelopes, etc; free printable

God made the frogs – activities for kids (biblefunforkids) file folder game with pictures to color and a life cycle chart; free printable

Frog – party favour bags to make (mrprintables) free printable (Tip: try my frog polka dot party paper to make your own zany frogs)

Frog – origami (origami-n-stuff4kids; scroll down) green or blue; cute, colourful, free printable and the pattern is pre-printed – bonus!

Five green frogs – stick puppet craft (picklebums) free printable

Frog – finger puppet (partyplanningcenter) with a tiara and red rose; cute cupcake topper or just use it for crafts or as a finger puppet or standing template; free printable

Tree Frog – 3D craft (canon) standing template to assemble; for older children; free printable

Frog – crafts for kids (craftingthewordofGod) frog face mask; jumping frog; free printable

Frog – finger puppet (wildolive) this simple craft could easily be adapted for paper

Jumping frog – origami (artistshelpingchildren) with easy how-to photo instructions

Frog – pop up craft (luntiks) with a mouth that opens

Frog pond – to make (picklebums) create your own frog pond small world to explore; a fun idea for your homeschool students

Amphibian – activities for kids (woodlandtrust) amphibian spotter sheet – spot the different life cycle stages – frogs, toads, tadpoles, eggs; Frog life cycle iDial; make your own frog pond with a simple washing-up bowl; pond dipping detective worksheet; in colour; free printable

Make a frog out of sand or dirt (Dover sample) interesting idea and something we all have access to

Fabulous frog craft idea (apathofpaper) a little boy in beige overalls with a green frog hanging out of his pocket – adorable

Frog – crafts (daniellesplace) lots of cool ideas; templates for purchase

Frog – crafts and printables (activityvillage) bookmarks, door hangers, finger puppets, masks; templates for members only

FROG ~ LEARN TO DRAW FOR KIDS ~ FREE PRINTABLE

Green Tree Frog – learn to draw (supercoloring) and Lily Pad – learn to draw; realistic images by grid; free printable

Tree Frog – learn to draw (drawingtutorials101) Lemon-Yellow Tree Frog – learn to draw; Rabb’s Fringe-Limbed Tree Frog; realistic images step-by-step

Frog – learn to draw (samanthasbell) by joining the dots; free printable

Rainforest cartoon frog – learn to draw (how-to-draw-cartoons-online)

Cartoon frog – learn to draw (mondedestitounis; scroll down) step by step; traceover; free printable

Frog – learn to draw (activityvillage) members only

FROG ~ PAPER GIFTS FOR KIDS ~ FREE PRINTABLE

Frog – FREE Bible verse card for kids (Paper Gifts for Estefany) Featuring a lime green and white background with a rounded purple border; green and bright pink polka dots; and Bible verse in purple, green and pink text from Numbers 6:24-26 ~ May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord be kind and gracious to you; may the Lord make His face to shine upon you and give you His peace deep in your heart. Print on 4×6 photo paper and laminate for best results. And don’t laugh at my frog okay?! He’s a little zany, but still pretty cute. Perfect for our frog party!

Glue / Bumpy Toe Pads – poster (answersingenesis) creative ways God has given his creatures to hang on – bumpy toe pads, hooks, glue, ridges, clingy hairs, suckers and clamps; free printable

Ultimate survivors – poster (answersingenesis) Some of God’s creatures push the pause button on life – hibernation; no oxygen, no food, no water; free printable

Rainforest frog – Bible verse card (kingjamesbibleonline) gorgeous green and blue frog with orange feet and eyes; with Bible verse from Job 12:9 – Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this?

Frog – Bible verse card (crosscards) from Job 12:10 – In His hand is the life of every creature; very cute; free printable

Beautiful Frog – verse cards (christianpostersfree) one has a Bible verse from Psalm 118:24 (scroll down); others have humour and some are blank; free printable

Frog – FREE Bible bookmark corners for kids (Paper Gifts for Estefany) with Bible verse in purple, green and pink text from Numbers 6:24-26 ~ May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord be kind and gracious to you; may the Lord make His face to shine upon you and give you His peace deep in your heart. Print on A4 paper, cut and fold to fit snuggly over the corner of your page to keep your place. Send the whole sheet for your child to share with family and friends. The green, polka dot triangles both fold down, so when you slip it over your corner, only the white area with the frog is showing. Like a square with a chunk taken out of it. Maybe the frog got hungry! After hibernation and all… :)

Frog – bookmarks (bookmarkbee) cartoon frogs on lily pads with green polka dots, stripes, chevron patterns; add a Bible verse and a note of encouragement on the back; free printable

Frog – FREE Bible wallet cards for kids (Paper Gifts for Estefany) with Bible verse in purple, green and pink text from Numbers 6:24-26 ~ May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord be kind and gracious to you; may the Lord make His face to shine upon you and give you His peace deep in your heart. Print on A4 photo paper, cut, and laminate for best results. Or for your sponsored child, send the whole sheet. I like to send extras of things like this and ask my children to share them around with family and friends, or with children who may not have heard from their sponsor in a while. Print extra copies and share them around with your family and friends, too.

Frog – FREE photo frame for kids (Paper Gifts for Estefany) For your child’s (or your family’s) photo. Yep, time to get the camera out again. Kids LOVE snaps of us, as much as we love snaps of them. For best results, print on on A4 photo paper and laminate. Or use it as a scrapbook page. Make it a gift your child will treasure.

Frog – FREE mini envelopes and mini note cards (Paper Gifts for Estefany) Print on A4 paper; free printable

Frog – Bible verse notepaper for kids (Paper Gifts for Estefany) – There are 3 designs, so you can mix and match – Design 1 | Design 2 | Design 3. Print on A4 paper. Add your child’s name in the top left corner if you wish. For your homeschool or Sunday school students, or for a special gift, cut them up, tie them together with ribbon or raffia, then gift wrap; free printable

Frog shaped notepaper (storyit) write on shapes to colour; free printable

Frog – award certificate (graphicgarden; click on ‘Frog & Monkey’) a green frog holding a large yellow star; Frog – shopping list (scroll down to ‘animals’ then click on ‘frogs’) 3 per page; sweet country style; free printable

Frog – gift boxes and party printables (fazendoanossafesta; scroll down to see the complete range) frog with bow tie on pale blue, white, yellow and green polka dot background; free printable

Frog – gift box (donteatthepaste) a frog sitting on a waterlily; free printable

FROG ~ STATIONERY FOR KIDS ~ FREE PRINTABLE

Frog – FREE stationery (Paper Gifts for Estefany) lime green border with green and bright pink polka dot border around a white background; and Bible verse from Numbers 6:24-26 ~ May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord be kind and gracious to you; may the Lord make His face to shine upon you and give you His peace deep in your heart; print on A4 paper; free printable

Frog – FREE note cards with Bible verse (Paper Gifts for Estefany) coloured text on white background, with lime green back with green and bright pink polka dot; and Bible verse from Numbers 6:24-26 ~ May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord be kind and gracious to you; may the Lord make His face to shine upon you and give you His peace deep in your heart; print on A4 paper; free printable

Frog stationery – lined or unlined; (sophia-designs) cute little hedgehog with straw hat holding his gumboots and talking to a frog lying on a waterlily, with faded out waterlilies border; free printable

Frog on lily pad – lined stationery (stationerytree) blank, lined, or handwriting paper; free printable

Frog – stationery (graphicgarden; scroll down to ‘animals’ then click on ‘frogs’) lined or unlined; free printable

Frog lifecycle – stationery / page borders (sparklebox) free printable

Frog – card or stationery (canon) and matching envelope in green, yellow or apricot; free printable

Frog – stationery (pageborders.org) plain squiggly green border and frog / pond / waterlily clipart along the bottom; free version is fine

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FROG ~ FREE ARTICLE FOR KIDS ~ ARTICLE TEXT

A Frog in a Sleeping Bag – by Special Design

DID YOU KNOW that there is a frog which lives in Australia out in the desert?! It’s called a ‘water-holding frog’. A desert is the last place you would expect a frog to live, as it often does not rain there for many years at a time. And you might already know that frogs just love water!

But God gave this desert frog a very special design. When the ground begins to dry up, the water-holding frog burrows backwards into the mud, until it disappears. About 30cm (12 inches) underground, it makes a tiny cave. Then its body swells up with water and seals itself, until it almost looks as though it is wrapped in plastic!

The frog then hibernates – sleeps deeply. Its breathing and heart beat become very slow. And the frog can stay like that for several years! Could you sleep for several years? When the desert in Australia floods again, this special frog in his ‘sleeping bag’ wakes up! It comes out of its sleeping bag and springs back to life. First up, it’s food! A feast of insects. I guess we would be hungry, too, if we hadn’t eaten for a few years! Then it quickly lays eggs (called spawn). Tadpoles emerge within a few days and soon become tiny frogs. As the puddles begin to dry up, these young frogs burrow into their own ‘sleeping bags’ and sleep safely until it rains again.

Now many people have been persuaded to think this incredible design just happened all by itself! However ALL these special features had to be there AND working correctly from the very first frog… or there would be no more frogs! All there would be left is a desert and lots of dead frogs after experimenting with their sleeping bag designs! These frogs were specially designed by God to live in the desert. God gave them the ability to burrow under the ground, seal themselves in their water tight sleeping bags and sleep safely in the harsh desert for up to several years, until the rains came again. God also created every kind of creature to reproduce after its own KIND (or family). When a frog has a baby, it is not a cow, or a sheep, or a monkey. It is definitely a baby frog. Here are some photos of the many different varieties of frogs below.

God created so many wonderful things for us to care for and enjoy. Things that are beautiful…. intricate… mysterious… perfect. To teach us about Him. To show us how wonderful, magnificent, wise and powerful He is. So that we will worship Him! Jesus! God the Creator!

INFORMATION
~ a fabulous site with lots of scientific information from a Biblical perspective. Got questions about God? This is the place you will find real answers. Like me, it is all about reinforcing the authority of Scripture and giving glory to God as designer. Remember, God says what He means and means what He says. We CAN and MUST take His Word seriously.

THANK YOU | Merci Beaucoup | ¡gracias

A very big thank you to F. Walther and to E. Bartlett for kindly providing the translations of this article text for us on behalf of all our French and Spanish speaking children.

RELATED LINKS

Moses / God’s Top 10 / Frog Plague ~ FREE colouring pages, puzzles, crafts and creative ideas for kids

More free articles for kids giving glory to God as designer

…whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31

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