Picture by Aaron

A frog is an amphibian. It starts its life in the water and then moves onto land when it becomes an adult. They also have moist skin. Amphibians lay eggs. The eggs stay in the water and hatch there. The young amphibians live in the water.

There are four parts of a frog's life cycle:  Eggs, tadpoles, young frogs, adult frogs.

Young frogs are called tadpoles. They look very different from adult frogs. They look more like fish. They breathe with gills. The gills help them get oxygen from the water.

As the tadpoles grow they change. They begin to grow lungs that they will need when they are adults. When their lungs are big enough to help them breathe, their gills start to disappear.

Tiny bumps appear on their bodies. These bumps grow into short front legs and longer, stronger hind legs. Once their legs are grown their tails begin to disappear. Then they look like adult frogs and are ready to live on land part of the time, but they usually stay close to water even when they are adults.

How are baby frogs and adult frogs the same?