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Two little ducky songs to share with little ones

I’ve been enjoying watching the ducklings who live in the pond near my home grow and play–and they inspired me to record these two little ducky songs.

The beauty and wonder of nature!

I find my morning walks (I only go in the morning this time of year–before it gets too hot) inspiring. From the lovely view of the mountains

little ducky-mountain view

to the amazing birds (which I don’t usually get very good photos of–I’ve had better luck with video)

little ducky and other birds
Great blue heron
little ducky and other birds
Lewis’s woodpecker

To the plant life

little ducky and plant life

to the curiouslittle ducky plus

and, of course, bunnies, which I shared about a couple of weeks ago.

And the ducks

Every morning now, I walk by this little pond surrounded by willow trees. And in or next to the pond are several little ducky families! I love the sounds they make and how the mama duck watches over them. And of course, I love their fuzzy cuteness.

I’ve been sending my patient family photos and/or videos almost every day.

Little Ducky Songs

The other day, I noticed as I was walking that I was singing little ducky songs–just to myself, I think. So I thought I’d record them and share them here and on YouTube in case anyone was looking for some silly duck songs.

The first one:

Here are the words:

5 little ducks went out to play over the hill and far away,

when Mama Duck said “Quack, quack, quack,”

4 little ducks came hurrying back.

 

4 little ducks went out to play….

3 little ducks came hurrying back.

 

3 little ducks went out to play…

2 little ducks came hurrying back.

 

2 little ducks went out to play…

1 little duck came hurrying back.

 

1 little duck went out to play…

no little ducks came hurrying back.

 

No little ducks went out to play over the hill and far away.

Then Mama Duck said, “Quack, quack, quack!!”

And five little ducks came hurrying back!

The second one:

Here are the words:

5 little ducks that I once knew,

fat ones, skinny ones, fair ones, too,

but the one little duck with the feather on his back,

He led the others with a quack, quack, quack

quack, quack, quack quack, quack, quack,

he led the others with a quack, quack, quack.

 

Down to the river, they would go,

wibble-wobble, wibble-wobble to and fro,

but the one little duck with the feather on his back,

he led the others with a quack, quack, quack quack,

quack, quack quack, quack, quack,

he led the others with a quack, quack, quack.

 

Back from the river, they would come,

wibble-wobble, wobble-wobble, hu-hum-hum,

but the one little duck with the feather on his back,

he led the others with a quack, quack, quack quack,

quack, quack quack, quack, quack,

he led the others with a quack, quack, quack.

Poetry Friday

Irene Latham at Live Your Poem hosts Poetry Friday this week–and leads a celebration of poet Nikki Grimes. Nikki has 2 books coming out in 2020: BEDTIME FOR SWEET CREATURES and SOUTHWEST SUNRISE. Be sure to check them out–I plan to–and see what other poets have to share this Friday, too.

And as always, thanks for stopping by!

xoxo

 

 

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat by Edward Lear

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat by Edward Lear always makes me smile! Do you remember it? Whether you do or not, here it is.

the owl and the pussy-cat cast
Here’s the cast of my puppet play of the owl and the pussy-cat

 

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat –the poem

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea
 In a beautiful pea-green boat.
They took some honey, and plenty of money
 Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
“O lovely Pussy, O Pussy, my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
            You are,
            You are
What a beautiful Pussy you are!”

Pussy said to the Owl, “You elegant fowl,
   How charmingly sweet you sing!
Oh! let us be married; too long we have tarried,
   But what shall we do for a ring?”
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the bong-tree grows;
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood,
   With a ring at the end of his nose,
            His nose,
            His nose,
   With a ring at the end of his nose.

“Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
   Your ring?” Said the Piggy, “I will.”
So they took it away, and were married next day
   By the turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince and slices of quince,
   Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
   They danced by the light of the moon,
            The moon,
            The moon,
   They danced by the light of the moon.

(This poem is in the public domain.)

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat–the puppet play

I’ve done The Owl and the Pussy-Cat as a puppet play for a number of years. I wrote a melody for it–with the intention of having it be a soothing song that felt like the waves in the ocean. I recorded it yesterday.

(Also, I recorded a puppet play of the three little kittens just a few weeks ago if you want more puppets and poems)

The puppets–and the story of the pink cat

the owl and the pussy-cat
Pink cat says be true to yourself

For this story, I use a crocheted owl and a knitted cat (there’s also a needle felted pig and a crocheted bird who plays the role of the turkey).

Way back when I was in first grade, we got mimeographed sheets (yes, it was a long time ago!) to color if we finished our work before the time was up. I always did my work really fast. I colored really fast, too. One day I got a mimeo of a cat and scribbled it full of pink. I took it back to the teacher to get another one. She refused. She told me that cats aren’t pink and I couldn’t get another coloring sheet until I colored my cat the right color. I told her I knew that cats weren’t pink but that I could color my cat pink if I wanted to. I don’t remember what happened next, but that moment really stuck with me. And so, many years later, I knitted a pink cat. So my pink cat represents artistic freedom!

Poetry Friday

And today is Poetry Friday. Carol Varsalona at Beyond Literacy Link hosts this week and shares a lovely memo to Mother Earth in honor of National Memo Day–and also shares some lovely picture poems on the theme of Nature Nurtures. Check out her post, see what other poets are writing about and join in, if you want!

In the meantime, thanks for stopping by!

xoxo

Make a woven paper heart basket for May Day

Why not make a woven paper heart basket for May Day?

Woven paper heart basket

A dear friend of mine–an EC teacher who, like many of us, isn’t in school right now–told me she was making these heart baskets for the children in her class. She’s going to put a tea bag in each one and an invitation to a virtual tea party. She plans to deliver them to the children’s houses. What a lovely surprise!

She inspired me to share a tutorial and pattern to make a woven heart basket.

Since I’m moving in 2 days, most of my house is packed up. So after some thought and a few experiments, I came up with a pattern and made a tutorial.woven paper heart basket

The tutorial

The pattern

Here’s a pdf that you can download and print to make the basket. You can make the heart out of the printed paper. That’s what I did. First I colored the side without the pattern printed on it, then I folded the paper on the fold line, cut it out, and wove it. You can also use it as a pattern and use other papers, just make sure you fold the paper in half and place the pattern against the fold. If you use the larger size and want to make it from the paper you print, you’ll need to print out two.woven paper heart basket

I recommend using medium weight paper–like printer paper or construction–so it won’t rip, but is flexible enough to weave.

I usually made these for the children. They’re easy, but a little fidgety to make. The little ones could certainly color the paper–and you could try doing them with the kiddos and see how it goes. It’s just a sheet of paper after all.

Here’s the pattern for the woven paper heart basket:

woven heart basket pattern.

What will you put in your basket

What will you put in your heart basket? Flowers are traditional for May Day. You can hang them on a neighbor’s door–or on a bedroom door at home. Maybe wrap them in a bit of damp paper towel and some plastic wrap or a baggy. I used to put chocolate hearts in my baskets for Valentine’s day. But anything that’s small enough to fit and light enough not to rip the paper is great!

Other May Day projects and posts:

A couple of years ago, I did a whole series of Mayday posts. Here are links to them, in case you’re interested:

Some background on May Day

A couple of May Day songs

A felt flower crown pattern

A super-simple DIY Maypole using a floor lamp, tree, or post

Happy May Day to you–and many happy days to come!

Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo

Hungry mousie story and finger plays

Last week, I wrote about kittens and this week, I share a poem/puppet play about a hungry mousie. I’ve been trying to share resources for parents or caretakers of young children these past few weeks in order to support families with young children at home. As a Waldorf early childhood teacher of 20 years, I’ve got a bunch of them!

I used to tell this story in my parent-child classes–and it was a big hit! After I’d told it myself a time or two, I’d let the little ones pick the next piece of the sandwich out of the bag. Simple and fun–and the hungry mousie always got his lunch.

hungry mousie
Here’s a close-up of the little needle-felted mouse

Hungry Mousie–the video

Here’s my recording of myself telling the story:

The story-poem:

Little Mouse was hungry, he was looking for some lunch.
“I’d like to have a sandwich to nibble, nibble, crunch.”

First, he found a piece of bread sitting by the door.
Then he went into the cupboard looking for some more.

A piece of cheese, sure to please.

Cucumber sweet, so good to eat.

An onion ring, that will add some zing.

Sour pickle makes my tummy tickle.

A piece of cake, for goodness sake! I’ll save that for dessert.

Another piece of cheese, golly geez.

Pepper sweet, can’t be beat.

A lettuce leaf, good for my teeth.

One more slice of bready, and mouse’s lunch was ready.

“Thank you for my food,” he said,
Then he bit into the bread.

Nibble, Nibble, crunch,
Nibble, nibble, crunch.
Mousie ate up all his lunch.

Then his tummy was full, so without a peep,
He went back home and fell asleep.

hungry mousie
You can make a simple mouse puppet out of felt or even paper by cutting out a heart shape and folding it in half (and sewing it if it’s fabric) add ears and a tail, whiskers, and eyes, if you want and–voila!

More hungry mousies–a couple verses I didn’t write that are fun for circle time or whenever:

If you need a good stretch, this first verse is for you–more of a story than a verse, really, but fun, nevertheless:

The mice woke up one morning, and they were so hungry.

“Let’s find something to eat.”

So they crept up to the first floor, but there was nothing to eat, so they ran back down to the cellar.

But they were still hungry.

“Let’s find something to eat.”

So they crept up to the first floor, then they crept up to the second floor, but there was nothing to eat, so they ran back down to the cellar.

But they were still so hungry.

“Let’s find something to eat.”

So they crept up to the first floor, they crept up to the second floor, they crept up to the third floor and all the way up to the attic.

And there they found a nice piece of cheese.

And they nibbled, nibbled, nibbled it all up.

They nibbled, nibbled, nibbled it all up.

They nibbled, nibbled, nibbled it all up.

And then they scattered the crumbs to the birds.

They scattered the crumbs to the birds.

They scattered the crumbs to the birds.

Then they went back down to the cellar and fell asleep.

And finally–Tom Thumb and Squeaky Mouse–a circular rhyme

Well, I don’t know if that’s what they’re called, but when you get to the end, it goes back to the beginning. And it reminded me of “The song that never ends,” so I sang that at the end because–why not! This one also has a hungry mousie!

Now I’ll tell you a story and this story is true,

So you listen carefully and do just what I do.

Here is Tom Thumb and here is his house,

This is his window and this is Squeaky his mouse.

One morning very early, when the sun began to shine,

Squeaky mouse sat up in bed and counted up to nine

1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8..9

Then Squeaky took a great big jump right on to Tom Thumb’s bed.

Squeaky ran right up his arm and sat upon his head.

Squeaky pulled his ear and Squeaky pinched his nose

until Tom Thumb got out of bed and put on all his clothes.

Then they sat down to breakfast and ate some buttered bread,

and when they were all finished, little Tom Thumb said,

Now I’ll tell you a story and this story is true…..

Poetry Friday

Christie Wyman, over at Wondering and Wandering hosts Poetry Friday this week. She also shares her poetry–for National Poetry Month, she’s been writing poems based on Thoreau’s journal entries–pretty cool! You can also see what other poets are sharing or add your own link if you want.

I mentioned last week that my 92-year-old dad was diagnosed with coronavirus. He’s still at home (in an independent living facility with my mom) and seems to be feeling a bit better–for which I am most grateful!

Also, I’m moving a week from tomorrow, so whether I’m able to write or share any poetry next week remains to be seen.

But, as always, I’m grateful to you for stopping by. Be well!

xoxo

Three little kittens–with sock and glove puppets

Today I posted the three little kittens as a puppet play on my YouTube Channel. In case you’re not familiar with this nursery rhyme, here are the words (as I know them):

Three Little Kittens

Once three little kittens, they lost their mittens,

and they began to cry:

“Oh, mother dear, see here, see here,

Our mittens we have lost!”

“What lost your mittens, you naughty kittens,

now you shall have no pie.”

Meow, meow, meow, meow.

 

The three little kittens, they found their mittens,

and they began to cry:

“Oh, mother dear, see here, see here,

our mittens we have found!”

“What found your mittens, you darling kittens,

now you may have some pie.”

Meow, meow, meow, meow.

 

The three little kittens put on their mittens

and soon ate up the pie.

“Oh, mother dear, see here, see here,

our mittens we have soiled!”

“What soiled your mittens, you naughty kittens”

And they began to sigh,

“Meow, meow, meow, meow.”

 

The three little kittens, they washed their mittens

and hung them up to dry.

“Oh, mother dear, see here, see here,

our mittens we have washed.”

“What washed your mittens, you darling kittens!

But I smell a rat close by!”

Meow, meow, meow, meow.

The puppet play

This is a very silly poem–and it has both kittens and mittens in it. Probably why I like it so much. A while back, I made a glove puppet for the three little kittens. three little kittens glove puppet

three little kittens with pie
Three little kittens with their pie.                                                            And another time, when I was making sock puppets with my parent-child classes, I made sock puppets.

 

 

 

 

three little kittens--mama
Here’s mama kitten

three little kittens

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

three little kittens

 

 

 

Both are pretty rough and simple–on purpose. But I love making puppets with stuff that I have lying around–although I did buy socks for the 60 or so families in my classes. I certainly didn’t have that many loose socks around!

three little kittens--the pie
And don’t forget the pie–this one’s made of beeswax
mittens for three little kittens
And of course, there are the mittens. I cut these out of an old sweater I’d felted. I think there used to be 6, but there are only 5 now–don’t tell Mother Dear!

My hope in making this video was not only that people would hopefully enjoy watching it, but that it would inspire people to make their own simple puppets.

Make some puppets

Many of us are stuck at home. These puppets are super easy to make from stuff you have at home–as long as you have a needle and thread–or you can use glue if you prefer. You’ll probably need a pair of scissors, too. Here are some of my favorite sock puppet tricks:

  • if you’re using athletic socks, you can turn them inside out so the fuzzy side is out–that’s what I did for my cats
  • if there’s a brand name on the end of the sock, you can just cut it off and sew the end shut
  • You can also make more than one puppet from a sock, like I did with the three kittens–just make a cut or two and then sew it together.
  • Use any fabric scraps you have around the house–or other unmatched socks or gloves–to make eyes, ears, nose, mouth, whatever you want to add to your puppet. You can give them clothes and hats, too. No need to worry about being silly when you already have a sock on your hand! You can use buttons, too–and anything else you can sew or glue on.
  • Little ones will love making and playing with sock puppets. They might need help with cutting, sewing, or gluing–or not.

The same thing goes for making glove puppets. You can have a whole puppet show on one hand. I recently saw a springtime garden glove puppet–very sweet. You can use an old glove you have lying around–like I did. Or if you want it to look nicer, you can find some cotton gloves to use and even dye them if you want.

I’ve also posted a few sewing tutorials on YouTube and here, as well, if you need help getting started with sewing. Here are links to the first 2:

Sewing Basics 1: choosing the right needle

Sewing Basics 2: the running stitch

Poetry Friday

So this old classic is my offering for Poetry Friday. Molly over at Nix the Comfort Zone hosts this week. Check out her blog to see what she has to say about making bread in the time of quarantine and what other poets are writing about this week.

This week, my dad got back the diagnosis that he does have the coronavirus. He’s still at home–in independent living–with my mom. He’s feeling pretty crummy but holding steady.

I think that’s why I took comfort in sharing this childhood favorite. Plus, it feels good to offer something to support families who are struggling right now.

I hope that you and yours are well.

Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo

Cultivating resilience–we really need it right now!

In the past few years, in early childhood circles, we’ve talked a lot about cultivating resilience.

Resilience is defined as:

1. the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.
“the often remarkable resilience of so many British institutions”
2. the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity.
“nylon is excellent in wearability and resilience”
But today I’m thinking about the resilience that we need as adults right now. And certainly, if you are spending lots of time at home with your children, the biggest thing that influences them is their parents/caretakers. Of course, if you’re feeling up to it, you can always check out Simplicity Parenting–the book or the website. Or you can read my post on Simplicity Parenting for a quick overview. There’s been a lot written about cultivating resilience in children–this is still my favorite that I’ve read so far.
Butterfly, Insects, Nature, Animal, Wing

How do we cultivate resilience?

One thing is for sure–in this age (Ok–it’s only been a little while, but it feels like an age) of coronavirus and social distancing and sheltering at home–we sure could benefit by cultivating resilience! I’ve been feeling stressed and worried–especially about my parents who have an apartment in senior assisted living. And especially when I heard that a case (now 2) had been diagnosed there and my mom wasn’t feeling well. I called my poor daughter and burst into tears. Then I went for a walk, which is one of my coping mechanisms. I felt much calmer after that–maybe I should have walked first.

Making a contribution and cultivating resilience

One of the things that I found out about cultivating resilience is that a good way to increase or strengthen it is to make a contribution. I’ve been moved and inspired by the many offerings that people have made to support others during this time. At the beginning of this week, I attended a webinar offered by Jill Badonsky, called a pillow fort workshop. 

She led us through various art and mindfulness exercises–creativity and mindfulness are her things, which is why I’m so enamored! But one of the exercises she led us through was “My resilience.” She led us through a bunch of 1 sentence prompts and then we wrote a poem. And since it’s Poetry Friday, I thought I’d share mine. Tabatha Yeatts hosts this week–you can check out her blog and see what other poets have on their minds or in their blogs and/or add your own post.

cultivating resilience by giving our gifts
cultivating resilience by sharing our gifts

Poem: My resilience

My resilience is a rainbow that swirls and dances in the rain.

It is a walk in the woods, following the sounds to a laughing stream that dances across the stones.

My resilience is an ancient tree that whispers, “You are a marvel. You are stronger than you know.”

My resilience is a peaceful fall day where the breeze frees the leaves from the trees and they rain down like gold

While I am wrapped in a fuzzy, soft magenta sweater and sunshine.

What is your resilience?

cultivating resilience

A few more thought about resilience

As I meandered about the internet thinking about resilience, I found some TED talks about cultivating resilience. Here are some of the highlights (and links). Their suggestions have a lot of similarities.

Dr. Stemett

Dr. Lehan Stemett invites us to think about ways to contribute our wisdom and experience in proactive ways. He says that resilient people face reality, see it for what it is and deal with it in proactive ways. Don’t ruminate, which he defines as adding negative emotions to thoughts. Those could-ofs/should-ofs release cortisol and are bad for our health.

He encourages us to forgive others–don’t resent or envy them, likening this to banging your head against the wall and hoping others will get hurt. He reminds us that change is inevitable, growth is optional

To feel self-actualized (and more resilient) we need to experience significance, purpose, and meaning. Not instant gratification!

Significance can be something very small and simple–like smiling at someone as you walk down the street.

Having a bigger purpose means not just doing it for yourself.

If we change our behavior, our attitude will follow. Changing behavior leads to neurogenesis and shapes the brain.

He encourages us to ask ourselves: Is what I’m doing, thinking and feeling right now helping me or anybody else in any way? if no–then what’s the point of doing it. Start today to make life better for ourselves, our families, colleagues, societies, etc.!

Rafael Rose

Rafael Rose speaks about stress and resilience. Suppression is not a good strategy, he says.

He encourages us to face challenges and pursue meaning–changing our behavior (not that again!). And if we do it slowly and gradually, we are more likely to succeed and make lasting changes.

He talked about making a small manageable behavior change–like if you want to floss your teeth every day, start with flossing one tooth. Or going for a 5-minute walk every day if you want to start exercising. Jill Badonsky and others talk about this, too–making small doable changes.

His second step is: Be compassionate to yourself, not self-critical if you miss a day (or a tooth?). That be self-compassion if you fail makes it easier to rebound

He also encourages us to engage in something meaningful. The difference between doing something meaningful and doing something to relieve stress is subtle but important–do something for the joy it brings. Do anything that’s meaningful to you.

Finally-welcome stress, learn from your mistakes, enjoy your accomplishments.

Lucy Hone

Lucy Hone shares three secrets of resilient people. Professionally she studies resilience, but she also shares her experience of losing her young daughter who died in a car accident.

Her 3 strategies:

  1. Resilient people get that bad things happen. It doesn’t mean they welcome it, but they know that suffering is part of every human existence. Instead of asking “Why me?” they ask “Why not me?” They know that they are not entitled to a perfect life

2. Resilient people are really good at choosing carefully where they put their attention–focusing on things they can change and accepting the things they can’t–this is a learnable strength.

We excel at noticing negative emotions. We come wired that way. In cavemen times, if we encountered a tiger and a  rainbow at the same time, it made sense for us to focus on the tiger. Now we are constantly bombarded by threats. Our threat response is permanently dialed up. Resilient people know how to tune into the good. They find things to be grateful for. Find ways to focus on the good. It made me think about gratitude journals–writing three things you are grateful for every day. She did it after her daughter died.

3. Ask yourself: Is what I’m doing helping or harming me? We can ask this question about others, as well–is what I’m doing helping or harming them? It puts you back in the driver’s seat–gives you some control.

These are all, she tells us, ordinary processes that just requires the willingness to try when life takes a turn we didn’t expect. Perhaps like now. It’s not easy and doesn’t remove all the pain, but these three steps can help us navigate through the bad stuff that happens in life.

The end

Whew! I didn’t realize I had so much to say today. It takes some resilience to get through all of this!

Thank you for stopping by. Be safe! Cultivate resilience!

xoxo