Preschool Story Time - Duck, Duck, Swan!

One thing I have learned is that everyone does story time their own way.  If you can take ideas from our page, we are thrilled to keep blogging our story times.  Someone else might look and say "meh, not for me" and that is cool too.  There isn't a right or a wrong way to do a story time, as long as you love what you are doing.  The kids will see someone who isn't genuine a mile away, so really just go for it and shine on.
Duck story time is always great - because there are so many resources.  Did you know you could really do an entire story time on ducks wearing socks?  True story!  I mixed it up a little and brought in different duck books, but it really was a difficult choice.  Here we go!

Duck is such a great cook, but he wants to create his OWN recipe.  With a dash of mad-cap humor, this soup-opera is sure to please.

Emily is so serious!  What happens when she meets a duck who has a clear answer for every one of his little quirks?  The kids really thought this was silly and fun.

One of the easiest felt sets I created EVER.  You might get only one use with your preschool crowd, but this one can be used with a wider range of kids.  I think I will get use of this with school visits up to second grade.





After HALFTIME, we kept the party going with a sing-along.  This week I feverishly plucked out the 5 Little Ducks song (traditional) the night before.  I was nervous because there was so little practice time, but I had the moms all help me out and it turned out great!



5 little ducks went out one day, over the hill and far away.
Mother duck said, "quack, quack, quack, quack!"
But only 4 little ducks came back....

Continue with 4, 3, 2, 1 until
Sad mama duck went out one day, over the hill and far away.
Sad mama said, "quack, quack, quack, quack!"
And all the 5 little ducks came back!

Time for my second flannel story of the day!  Using some of the artwork in this book, I created my version of The Ugly Duckling!  Click HERE to see the full length Flannel Friday post on this set, complete with ALL of the pieces I created for this story.

There is no one way to tell this tale, so you can learn the basics and tell it any way you would like.  My story timers love the felt sets the best, so I like to make sure I have a new set every week.  I just enjoy making them because I know how much the kids appreciate them.

Well, we had a little time left, so I pulled out this interactive book.  Duck dares the kids not to tickle him, but of COURSE you have to!  I took it slowly and made sure everyone had a chance to tickle the duck on every page.  Little meat to the story, but lots of fun.

Today's craft was a duck pond scene!

One of my secrets is owning a circle punch.  I have been able to create so many crafts using my 1 inch and 2 inch punches.  The kids used a ripping technique to create the pond and grass, and created the scene any way they wanted.

Thanks for stopping by!

Flannel Friday - The Ugly Duckling

I have seen this story written in so many ways.  When I finally decided to create a flannel set, I chose Braun's version of the story.   I did not flannelize all of the characters, however.  Also, due to time constraints and felt on hand, both of my swans are white.  I wanted to make a black swan, but black is also a difficult color to work with in felt because puffy paint doesn't show very well on black.  So there it is.

To paraphrase:  Mother duck was tending to her nest of three eggs when she left for a moment.  A larger egg floated along the stream and landed next to her nest.  Hmm were'nt there three eggs?  No matter, she thought, I will love this one just the same.

Soon the three eggs hatched but the larger one didn't.  No matter, thought mother duck, I will wait for my baby to arrive.  Finally the new baby emerged but it looked very different.  The ducklings were all so mean, telling the new baby that it was ugly.  No matter, said mother duck, You are beautiful to me and I love you just the same. 

The duckings grew, but the gray one always stuck out and was much larger than his siblings.  Other animals teased and taunted the ugly duckling and the baby ducklings joined right in.  Stop that! said Mother Duck, he is MY baby.  He is not ugly.  I love him just the same as the others.

The ugly duckling ran away, and soon he was grown.  He sat by the pond watching birds fly in the sky.  How I wish I could look as beautiful as they are!  But I am just an ugly duckling!

One of the birds in the sky landed next to the ugly duckling.  "Would you like to fly with us?"  "WHAT? I am so ugly!  Why would you want ME to fly with you?"  The other bird said "you are not ugly!  You are a beautiful swan - just like the rest of us!  Look in the pond at your reflection!"  The ugly duckling looked into the pond.  "I am a beautiful swan!  I am!"

The two swans flew away together and joined the rest of the swans, flying high in the sky.  The ugly duckling wasn't an ugly duckling at all!  He was a beautiful swan soaring high with other swans.  And they lived happily ever after!

If I had the time, I might have felted more pieces, but this version is just lovely too.  It was one of my favorites as a child, so fitting that I felt the set.  I hope you enjoyed it.

Thanks to Kathryn from Fun With Friends at Story Time  for hosting this week!  Please stop by the Flannel Friday website to learn more about Flannel Friday!

Thanks for stopping by!