Learn Together
Children who learn more about our world’s wildlife develop a respect and understanding for what we can do to protect and care for the environment.
Materials
- Computer, tablet, or phone to watch the video
- A comfortable seat
- White paper
- White crayons
- Watercolors
- Cups of water
- Paintbrushes
Imagine Together
Coquís are small frogs that live in the trees of Puerto Rico. They are nocturnal animals and are usually only one or two inches long, so they can be very hard to see. However, at night you can always hear their signature call that sounds just like they’re saying “coquí”!
Watch and listen to The Legend of the Golden Coquí together.
- Pause the reading at any moment to chat about what you have seen or heard so far.
- After the story is over, everyone in the family should get a piece of paper, a white crayon, watercolors, and a cup and a paintbrush.
- With the white crayon, draw a coquí on your white paper. Remember, coquís are small! Try to make the drawing small, too.
- Everyone will trade their paper with someone else in the household. Now it’s time to look for the coquís!
- Dip your paintbrush in water and then in the watercolor. Paint over the paper. Think of a scene from the book where the children looked for the coquí, such as El Yunque, and try to paint it.
- As you paint, the oil from the crayons and the water in the watercolor will separate, allowing you to “find” the coquí someone else drew.
The coquí is an important symbol to Puerto Rico. Changes caused by recent hurricanes, droughts, and human impact on the island have affected the coquís’ home making it difficult to thrive.