Five Little Ducks is one of the most popular songs among toddlers and pre-schoolers. The peppy rhythm of the song, the counting with finger play and memorisation of the repetitive lines in the correct numerical sequence is exciting for the little ones. This is a traditional children’s song taught to kids in nursery and KG along with the associated counting and finger play. Canadian children’s folk singer Raffi had first released it as a single in the album Rise and Shine. The song has been reimagined numerous times through rhyme books, music videos and other educational content for children.
Lyrics Of The Rhyme ‘Five Little Ducks’
Five Little Ducks went out one day, over the hills and far away.
Mother Duck said, “Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack,” but only four little ducks came back.
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Four little ducks went out one day, over the hills and far away
Mother Duck said, “Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack,” but only three little ducks came back.
Four little ducks went out one day, over the hills and far away
Mother Duck said, “Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack,” but only two little ducks came back.
Four little ducks went out one day, over the hills and far away
Mother Duck said, “Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack,” but only one little duck came back.
Four little ducks went out one day, over the hills and far away
Mother Duck said, “Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack,” but none of the five little ducks came back.
Sad mother duck went out one day, over the hills and far away
Mother Duck said, “Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack,” and all of the five little ducks came back.
What Will Your Child Learn From The Rhyme ‘Five Little Ducks’
Five little ducks is a rhyme that teaches the kids to count. It introduces kids to the concept of subtraction, or “one less” in the form of ducks reducing one by one. Children are very observant and learn a lot by creating mental imagery while singing or listening to rhymes. Through this song, they will learn a lot about nature the sound of the duck, or far away hills. They will also learn an important lesson, which is not to wander off alone too far while playing, lest children get lost and can’t find their way back home. The song also teaches kids in a reassuring manner that their parents will always watch out for them and help them out whenever they are in need.
Theme Of The Rhyme Five Little Ducks
The song five little ducks is, as the name suggests, about a family of ducks with a mother and five babies. In the rhyme, the babies go out, but end up in a place that is very far from home. In the end, not all of them are able to return home. When all the ducks are gone away, the mother duck gets sad, and sets off looking for them and brings them all back home.
Rhyming Scheme Of Five Little Ducks
The five little ducks follows the rhyming scheme AABB. Moreover, you can notice that the second and third lines repeat in every verse, while the first and fourth lines too remain same except for the changing numbers in each verse.
Words That Your Child Will Learn From Five Little Ducks
Nouns: Duck, Hill, Mother
Prepositions: Out, Over, Far away, Back
Animal Sounds: the duck’s quack
Numbers: The numbers 1-5 in a descending order
Suggested Activities
1. Duck Race:
Here’s an activity that your children will enjoy on the theme of the five little ducks. For this activity, ask the kids to become ducks. For this, they will have to sit on the floor in a full squat position, move their head back and forth, and keep repeating the ‘quack-quack’ sound continuously. While doing so, they must race from one end of the room to the other. Whoever falls from their squat, or stops saying quack-quack gets disqualified from the race, and whoever reaches the finish line first, wins!
2. Drawing And Colouring:
Ask your child to visualise the story of the five little ducks and try to draw them on a sheet of paper. Guide them to draw the duck’s home, a stream flowing nearby, leading up to the hills in the distance. They can draw the mother duck near the house and five ducks waddling in the stream. They can even write the numbers 1-5 on each duck.
