Art Project Digital Downloads Red Eyed Tree Frog Creative Option After Finishing Work Early, Elementary Resource Room for 3-5th Graders, Las Vegas, NV November 2025

This is a quick Art Brain Break project by a 4th grader in the Resource Room where I was a Substitute Teacher at CCSD in November 2025.

She didn't say a word to me during our timed session where there were 3 other kids at the same octagon table. She had finished her math and all of her other assigned work so I asked her if she was interested in coloring any of the animal and insect art break pages I had with me.

The other girl at the table who hadn't said a word to me either put her hand out asking to pick a page too.

I said I had one request, that they write one or two sentences on the paper as they were coloring to start telling a little story about the animal they chose, and that the drawing was for them to keep, no one else. I also asked if I could take a picture to remember their work (I always ask the kids first if it's OK to take a picture of their art, and never take pictures of their faces, fYI).

The really amazing thing was that as the second girl was looking through the stack to pick her animal, the first girl spoke perfectly clearly with exact pronunciation, "I would write a story about this frog, but I don't know anything about Red Eyed Tree Frogs."

So, sort of kidding and meaning to be light about all the types of things someone could write about frogs I rattled off 5-6 aspects of the metamorphosis cycle frogs go through. I looked over after the second girl chose a Blue Dragon Sea Slug to work with the frog artist and was surprised to see she wrote down most of what I said right as I rattled things off.

She didn't ask for clarification, or any other topics, she just finished the part I asked for and kept coloring her frog showing it to me so I could take a picture then left.

I think kids who don't really enjoy talking enjoy the animals and insects. They can build a relationship quickly with subject and make it theirs almost immediately. There's something powerful about it.