Book Club: Make Way for Ducklings

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One of the books that has been included in several of our homeschooling curricula has been Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey. While using StoryTime Treasures from Memoria Press, we read through the book with our son. Then, we had the pleasure of reading Make Way for Ducklings again with God's Creation from A to Z from My Father's World with our daughter. After reading the book multiple times, I decided we should make a cute craft to go along with it, too.

When you let the kids play with googly eyes, you see what happens. 

The Story 

Make Way for Ducklings takes readers on a journey with Mr. and Mrs. Mallard as they plan where they are going to live and start a family of their own. The book offers many opportunities for children to practice their reading and rhyming as they learn the names of the ducklings – Jack, Kack, Lack, Nack, Ouack, Pack, and Quack. Parents can also discuss the importance of following traffic rules when crossing the street.

What About Ducks? 

Ducks are very interesting birds to study. We are fortunate that there are several lakes within a short driving distance that we can visit to see them in person. In the past, I have worked with ducks while working in education at a city zoo.

• Ducks live in both fresh water and salt water 
• Male ducks are called drakes, female ducks are called hens, and baby ducks are ducklings 
• Depending on what types of food a duck eats, they may have to dive deeper into the water 
• Ducks have been domesticated and kept on farms or as pets for more than 500 years 
• Ducks are raised for their eggs, meat, and feathers 
• Ducks' feathers have a waterproof quality to them – hence the saying, "Let it roll off you, like water off a ducks' back."
• In many species of ducks, the males and females have different feather colors and patterns

Materials 

• Blue, yellow, orange, white, and black construction paper 
• Glue sticks and white glue 
• Googly eyes (optional) 
• Scissors 
• Feathers (optional) 

Steps

1. Gather all of your materials. 

2. Lay out all of the materials onto the blue construction paper (you will only need have a sheet of construction).

3. Glue the body of the duck onto the blue construction paper.  

4. Glue on the head of the duck onto the blue construction paper. 

5. Glue on the eyes. You can use googly eyes if you or your children wish.

6. Glue on the beak and add the nostril. 

7. If you are adding feathers, you can add them for the wings or tail.

If you have any favorite duck-themed crafts or children's books, please share in the comments!