five little ducks adventure circle

Here's the long awaited post detailing our Five Little Ducks Adventure Circle, which has been an overwhelming hit with the kids. (Zoo Boy is even participating in all the activities at this point, which is somewhat unprecedented!)

We start in the living room with our call to circle (we've used the same thing all year -- Round and Round), then immediately drop into a duck walk during the first of our repeating verses:

Five little ducks went out one day,
Over the hills and far away.
Mother duck called, "quack, quack, quack, quack,"
But only four little ducks came back.

We then mime opening our palms and looking at the sky, and I say "It started to rain!" We then do the Enki Kindergarten Movement verse and activity "Clouds".

I then say "The little ducks played under the clouds," and the kids crawl under a parachute (while I wave it up and down on top of them) while singing the repeating verse, this time with four little ducks going out and only three returning.

Then I exclaim "It started raining harder!" and we do the Enki Kindergarten Movement verse and activity "Rain"

I say "The little ducks heard thunder. They decided to roll like the thunder", and the kids roll down the hallway while we sing the repeating verse, this time with three ducks going out and only two returning.

When they've rolled their way down to the master bedroom, I say "All that rain awakened the spring peepers", and we do the Enki Kindergarten Movement verse and activity "Spring Peepers".

Then I say "The little ducks pretended they were little frogs", and the kids jump like frogs on the bed while we sing our repeating verse, this time with two little ducks going out, and only one returning.

Next I say "The rain finally ended, and an old beaver came out of his lodge." We then do the Enki Kindergarten Movement verse and activity "Beaver".

Then I say "The little duck wanted to see what the inside of the beaver lodge looked like," and the kids crawl through the tunnel (from the hallway into their bedroom) while we sing the repeating verse, this time with the one little duck going out, and none of the five little ducks coming back.

I begin our summary of activities by saying "Poor Mama Duck! She looked for her babies everywhere."

"She looked around the pond" (we go back to the living room and duck-walk in a circle),
"She looked under the clouds" (crawling under the waving parachute),
"She rolled like the thunder" (rolling down the hall),
"She searched among the frogs" (jumping on the bed),
"She even asked the old beaver if he saw her ducklings (crawling through the tunnel),
"But no matter where she looked, she couldn't find her babies." (we slowly return to the living room),

"Finally, sadly, she sat down on the bank of the pond and watched Mama Goose and her goslings." Then we do the Enki Kindergarten Movement Activity "Mama Goose".

Then I say "Mama Duck decided to try one last time to call her little ducks." We duck walk around the living room as we sing our final verse:

Old Mama Duck went out one day,
Over the hills and far away.
Mama Duck called "quack, quack, quack, quack."
(pause for emphasis)
And all five ducks came wandering back!

We end with lots of hugs and kisses and celebrating.