Funtastic Frogs Review

 

I can't remember where I first saw these fun math manipulatives, but I was immediately drawn to the bright colors.  I knew that they would be a hit, and they are.

  

The girls love "playing" with them!  

 

As you can see the large frogs fit perfectly on one's fingertips to make great finger puppets!

The frogs themselves come in a container of 108 frogs in 3 sizes and 6 colors (orange, green, red, blue, yellow, and oops I forgot the purple!), and strings for lacing.  The happy frogs are made of colored plastic (they are not painted) and have a larger hole in the bottom (for putting on fingers or the logs you can get) and a small hole in the top for lacing.  Please note that the medium and small sized frogs make excellent choking hazards so keep out of the reach of any at risk children (you know your child)!  I purchased these from Rainbow Resource for $13.25.  They do have a smaller package available with 72 mixed frogs for $11.25 or 108 of just the small frogs for $9.00.  Keep in mind though that many of the cards and activities require all three sizes.  These are great fun on their own ("how many frogs fit in this circle?") as well as with the activity cards or workbooks.

I bought three sets of activity cards: Matching and Counting, Color patterns, and Number Patterns.  Rainbow Resource is the cheapest place to buy these at only $6.25 each.  Each set has 17 cards, and each durable card has one brightly colored side and 

 

one "coloring book" side that you can photocopy for recording or making your own patterns.

Matching and Counting Activity Cards: Using the frogs, match the color and size of each frog on the card.  Count the frogs.  Great for color and size recognition and learning to count.  The recommended age is 5 and up, but Ally can do this well and she is not yet 3.  This is the easiest set of activity cards.

Number Patterns Activity Cards:  Match the frogs on the card.  Look for a number pattern. Use the pattern to show what comes next or to find the missing frogs.  This set of activity card only uses the small frogs.

Color Patterns Activity Cards: Match the color and size of each frog on the card.  Look for a pattern.  Use the pattern to show what comes next or to find the missing frogs.

There are other products available as well such as counting logs (that the small frogs snap onto. Available on Amazon.), Lacing Patterns Activity Cards, and a wide variety of math workbooks.

"Funtastic Frogs are FUN!"