"Five Little Ducks Went Out One Day........."
My son absolutely loves the 5 Little Ducks Song so I decided to knock up these cute little finger puppets and hand puppet for the the mother duck. For the hand puppet, I didn't use a pattern but if you would like one let me know and I will draw one up and add it to the page. I have just included the instructions for the finger puppets below. The finger puppets were really simple, the hand puppet was not as simple but I could manage it with my elementary sewing skills. I used a sewing machine but you could easily do by hand or glue them together.
What you need
- 1 piece of yellow felt - 1 square was enough
- 1 piece of orange felt - small amount for the beaks
- yellow feathers if desired
Simply cut out 10 finger sized pieces of the yellow felt for the bodies and 5 small triangles of the orange felt for the beaks.
Place the feather on one piece of felt facing down.
Fold the triange in half to make a beak shape place it inside the felt, place another felt body piece on top and pin around the edge.
Sew a seam around the edge.
Now all you have to do in invert, draw on some eyes and your ducks are ready!.
Just FYI my son did enjoy having a good "munch" on the ducks and they survived to they are officially baby proof. Just make sure if you use the feathers they they are secure and won't come loose.
Five Little Ducks Song
Five little ducks went out one day over the hills and far away
Mumma duck said 'quack quack quack quack'
but only four little ducks came back
Four little ducks went out one day over the hills and far away
Mumma duck said 'quack quack quack quack'
but only three little ducks came back
Three little ducks went out one day over the hills and far away
Mumma duck said 'quack quack quack quack'
but only two little ducks came back
Two little ducks went out one day over the hills and far away
Mumma duck said 'quack quack quack quack'
but only once little duck came back
One little duck went out one day over the hills and far away
Mumma duck said 'quack quack quack quack'
but none of her five little ducks came back
Sad mumma duck went out one day over the hills and far away
Mumma duck said 'quack quack quack quack'
and all of her five little ducks came back
There are lots of different playdough recipes out there but I find this stove top one to give the best results. Children LOVE playdough, even if they pop it in their mouth, it is made with cooking ingredients, so other than tasting a bit salty, it won't hurt them.
Playdough teaches children a number of skills including science, maths and fine motor and is a great calming sensory experience.
Recipe:
1 Cup plain flour
1/2 Cup salt
1 Tbsp Oil
2 Tsp cream of tartar
1 Cup of water
Food colouring if you want ( I used approx 6 drops of pink colouring). Mix the colouring into the water.
Put all ingredients (except the water) into the saucepan on low heat. Gradually stir in the water. Cook over low heat stirring continually until the mixture thickens and comes away from the side of the pan (approx 5 minutes). Remove from the pan and knead until the playdough is smooth.
Enjoy!.
Bibs are surprisingly easy to make. I have made quite a few now for personalised gifts. I have found you can never have too many bibs on hand!.
I made the pattern below myself so it is not perfect but I have found it a really easy one to use. If using print on A3 paper for the full sized bib.
What you need
- 1/2 a metre of material. I usually use fleece on one side and toweling or terry cloth on the other as I find it makes for a more absorbent material.
- A sewing machine and appropriately coloured cotton
- Velcro
Process
- Cut the pattern on each piece of material.
- Pin together right side facing, and sew approx 1/2" seam around the edge leaving a few centimetres gap to turn right side out.
-Turn right side out and hand sew together the gap.
- Place two small triangles of vecro on the top corners of the bib (one on the front and one on the back). and sew into place.
Your bib is now ready to use!
Very easy but very messy so kids are going to love it. This is definately one for slightly older children. Kids can get involved in the making and the playing (and most adults I know can't get enough of it too). I made it with my friend's 3 year old son and he sat playing with it for nearly an hour. Anyone who has an active 3 year old knows that's a great acheivement. It is cheap to make too.
Ingredients
- 1 300g Packet of corn flour
- 1 Cup of Water
- food colouring if you want to make it coloured.
Process
Mix the water into the corn flour and it is ready to go!.
When made it should feed firm when you press on top but when you scoop it up with your hands it sort of becomes soft and drippy.
This is a great science game for the kids, you can make different colours and mix them and experiment with what happens when you add more water.
It is messy but cleans up easily with water. Warning if you use food colouring and children play in it for long they may end up dying their hands.
Enjoy.
