Katy mentioned that the last part of yesterday’s blog was morbid and it got me to thinking that maybe others felt the same way. The ducklings in the verse really don’t get lost, they come back, again and again to teach children to count and play and move and learn.
Let me explain. What I wrote was only one stanza from a children’s rhyming song. It can be a finger counting rhyme or a movement activity and there are all sorts of examples you can explore on YouTube. My first grade teacher, Miss Blood, who married the year I had her and became Mrs. Thone, a very good name change for a first grade teacher, don’t you agree, taught us this little tune. We would squat down on our knees, hold our ankles with our hands, waddling and pretending to be ducks, all together quacking during the song’s refrain.
Needless to say, I was a very awkward little duckling, though I could quack pretty well.
To add to the fun, there was a house with an alleyway on the way to school and guess what they had in their yard? Ducks! The ducks didn’t mind letting us visit through the grid of the fence – and neither did the homeowners. I was charmed, of course, by their darling duck faces and feathered bodies and all that quacking.
Click on and sing along: kids.niehs.nih.gov/lyrics/fiveducks.htm
Or
If you need visuals, this is the site for you:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3ny3jru-mk&feature=related
On a trip to Boston a few years ago, we went to the Boston Public Gardens. We sat on a bench after a day of wandering the Freedom Trail and every cemetery with skull and bones and dates hundreds of years old, and the Old North Church, Paul Revere’s house and Faneuil Hall before coming to rest in front of the ducklings that Boston made way for in the famous children’s’ book, Make Way for Ducklings.
Little children were climbing and sitting and even kissing these adorable ducks and try as we did, it was impossible to get any good pictures of the brood with all the children swarming around.
Have you read Make Way for Ducklings? It is one of my all-time favorite children’s books and it was fun to see these sculptures at the Boston Public Gardens one crisp day in Autumn.
Thanks, Katy, for giving me a reason to write about yet another children’s’ book.
We arrived in Boston the same day that Jennifer and Jason and his family were leaving Boston. Tom and I had a great time, but, it would have been fun to meet up with them and even more to see the ducklings with Jennifer, who I am sure would have been crawling on them as well.
Below is one of the statues we managed to capture without a captivated toddler on it.
When I was a daycare teacher, we sang that song, but on the last verse Papa Duck said QUACK, QUACK, QUACK, QUACK and six little ducks came running back. We said the Papa quacks in our big, loud, Daddy voices. We were very politically incorrect 3 year olds. We also sang another version.
Six little ducks that I once knew,
Fat ones, skinny ones, tall ones too,
But the one little duck with a feather in his back…
He led the others with his “quack, quack, quack”. (repeat)
Down to the river they would go
Wibble wobble, wibble wobble to and fro.
But the one little duck with a feather in his back..
He led the others with his “quack, quack, quack”. (repeat)
Ding..turn the page.
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I knew you would come through for me on this one. I always loved the quack, quack, quacking parts, being a child at heart. Children love to make quacking noises – or any other notices.
Thanks for helping me turn the page . . . ding.
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Oops, I really should check your links before I comment. I see your link has the version that I wrote. Sorry, its been a long day….I roller skated with my class. Probably not the best choice.
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Roller skating, hmmmm, did you skate to your seat? I would be in one position, prone, unable to move, but, you know my physical abilities, or lack of them. tee hee
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I did sing “Skate to Your Seat”. The kids were more interested in “Hokey Pokey”. I don’t have enough balance to “shake it all about and turn myself about.”
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You’re funny! I’m impressed that you were on the skates in the first place.
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Thanks… I forgot all about this cute little song. I learned the version on the link with the gal singing. I love her QUACK QUACK QUACK at the end. I know some little kids to sing this to. :o)
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It’s cute, isn’t it? Are you practicing your quacking for those cute little ducklings next time they are with you?
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My kids loved the book MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS also and when we were in Boston, I had to see the sculptures. I tried very hard to get a pictures of all of the ducks without children on them. Then a group of young men came by and exclaimed that their mothers had read the book to them as children and they all had to sit on a duck.
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Make Way for Ducklings is such a classic. You should have taken a picture of the young men on the ducks instead, Bev. tee hee
Did you know Robert McCloskey kept ducks in the bath tub while he was doing the illustrations?
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Thanks for clarifying about the song – I actually didn’t know the song and wonder how I missed out on that one. I would have loved to have quacked like that (and still do!)
What a wonderful book as well. I also love Blueberries for Sal by him!
I am glad to know where “Skate to your seat” comes from!
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Don’t worry, Katy, I’ll make sure my grandchildren learn it. You were too busy getting ready for the Teddy Bear’s Picnic!
I still have the postcard you sent me from the duckling statues when you were there in college.
I learned “skate to your seat’ in college. Janet, who went roller skating yesterday per her comment, was my friend, roommate, partner in mischief in college and aren’t you happy to know your mom isn’t the only one who skates to her seat? The song is really a waltz and was used when people had to clear the ice skating rink. (thanks, Janet, for that little bit of info).
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The comment about your teacher’s surname made me laugh. Since Robert McCloskey is considered a Maine author (so what that he was born in Ohio), I most certainly have read this wonderful book, though I have never played the game that you describe. It sounds like a fun one for young children. Thank you for your visit today!
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You are welcome, and thanks for stopping by here. If you ever get down to Boston, make sure you go to the public gardens, Vee.
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Thanks for reminding me of “Make Way for Ducklings”! Anton and Kate had it but I have no clue where it is, I’ll have to get a copy for Eoin!
I’ve never been to Boston, but if I ever make it there the first site I want to see is the Old North Church!
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The Old North Churst is a moving place to visit. It is still a functioning church and the pews are the type that you are in your own box. We had walked through the Italian north end to get to it and that in itself is a rich adventure. After visiting the church we were hot and tired and needed some refreshment. Right across from it is a wonderful Italian coffee shop where we stopped where I had the best cannoli I have ever tasted.
Food is important when traveling with me.
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I just read this at 12:45 am … a very bad time to get a taste for cannoli!
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[…] Birds are flitting about, warbling their songs, building their nests. Robins and wrens, sparrows and finch, even the mallards are making way for their ducklings. […]
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