The Five Little Ducklings

We are participating in Readathon 2012 sponsored by MeMetales and PBS Kids.  This week's theme is ANIMALS.  Three books are available for Readathon 2012 participants to borrow for free this week!  One of them is this adorably illustrated version of  the traditional story, The Five Little Ducklings.  My children and I had fun doing 3 activities  inspired by this eBook version.

Duck Craft that Really QUACKS! We had a wonderful time creating and playing with our ducks!  We were inspired by Penny Carnival's version.  You can find full directions on how to make your duck quack here.  I had never seen these before, so it was fun for me, too!

 To create our ducks, I raided our art supplies and pulled out lots of materials for the children to choose from.  I gave them no model to follow.  I just asked them to make their cups look like a duck.  I did have to help my 3 year old cut her duck bill, but everything else was from their own imaginations.  

When they were finished, I added the "QUACKER" and taught them how to make it work!

Don't you just love how different each one turned out?

TORTILLA DUCK "QUACKERS" For snack, we made these yummy crackers.  I have made these for many years.  They are so easy and so much fun!  You can make them to match any party or book theme!  And the best part is that my kids were able to do this all by themselves, except placing them in the oven and pulling them out.

1-Gather your supplies.  You will need a cookie cutter,  tortillas, cooking spray, salt, baking sheet, and parchment paper.  Preheat the oven to 425.  That's it!

2-Cut duck shapes out of the tortillas, using the cookie cutter.  Place shapes on baking sheet covered with parchment paper.

3-Spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt.

4-Bake for 7 minutes.  Cool slightly and enjoy! These can be stored in an air tight container.  But I have never had any leftover to store!

 ****We always save the tortilla pieces leftover for enchilada casserole!

SENSORY NUMBER DUCK POND  I created a rubber duckie pond with blue water and blue and white sensory beads for the kids to explore. They had fun just playing with the ducks, beads and water.

We want to avoid the Summer Slide in Math, too.  So I wrote a number 1-5 (to go along with the 5 Little Ducklings) on the bottom of each duckie.   Then I differentiated the activity for each child.

*My 3 year old told me the name of the number on the bottom of each duck and sorted the ducks by colors and sizes.

*My 5 year old  picked up two ducks and added the numbers written on the bottom together.

*My 7 year old is beginning to learn multiplication, so he multiplied the two numbers together.

It was great to have an activity that they could all enjoy together and still learn at a "just right" place for them. 

Thank you, MeMetales, for giving us the opportunity to participate in such a great cause!  For more information about Readathon 2012, please click here.  MeMetales is donating one meal through the Food for Good program for EVERY person who registers.  I hope you will consider joining us!

***Due to my participation in the Readathon 2012, I am receiving the featured books. In exchange, I will be sharing book inspired, fun activities with you each week!