I wish that I had duck feet by Dr Seuss is such a wonderful story!
A great book to read when learning or talking ‘About Me!’
This week we are all about Story + Craft Idea! Reading books and making a craft or getting involved in an art project that is linked to a story is such a wonderful way to engage with children!
Crafts bring the book or story alive, and the story adds meaning to the Art!
I wish that I had Duck Feet is a lovely little story about a boy who wishes he had – amongst other things – duck feet! He also considers a whale spout, a long tail, an elephant nose and then he puts them all together to become a “Which What Who.”
A Which What Woo is a funny word – especially if you try and say it fast!!! 🙂
My two wanted Duck Feet! So I made them some to paint with!
We have this thing about painting our feet – we have painted the Rainbow with our feet, made Granny an apron with fabric paint and footprints, we have even walked an autumn tree!
Today we walked duck feet… and then because we love walking with paint on our feet, the duck feet came off and footprints were quickly added… and I suppose that’s the meaning of the story anyway – we prefer our own footprints!!
The duck feet were fun though! A lovely process – read MESSY – painting activity!! Best done out doors or on a floor you can mop!
Get yourself a copy of I wish I had Duck Feet by Dr Seuss and get started!!
Duck Feet Materials:
- Cardboard or thick paper to make a template
- Foam sheets or thick cardboard from a corrugated box (that would work well!)
- Long Long Long paper to walk on – paper roll like this one will do
- Masking tape or other strong tape to stick the duck feet onto your own
- Washable non toxic Paint – we used red, orange and yellow
- Tin or Plastic lid to squirt the paint on
How to make the Duck Feet:
- Cut a template from thick paper or cardboard and then use it to cut out two duck feet
- I used foam sheets which I know make great stamps for painting.
- The duck feet need to be just slightly bigger than the child’s foot.
- I made two – we did however only use one at a time, it was easier to walk that way!
Setting up and Painting your Duck Feet
- I rolled out paper on our pathway
- Squirted Red and Yellow and Orange (Duck feet colors???) onto a large plastic lid
- Be careful – when you step on this lid – with duck feet or human feet it can be very slippery!!
- I ‘strapped’ on the duck feet with masking tape – this lasted longer than I thought it would. Any sticky tape would do.
- If your children have a really old pair of shoes you don’t mind throwing away you could also hot glue or super glue duck feet to the bottom of those!!
The kids loved walking with feet on!
They each wore one – this made it a little easier to walk!
When they eventually came off they used their hands to put the paint on – and then stamped stamped stamped on them!
…..and then they just printed them like using a big stamp!
I asked some questions while they were walking and stamping…
- What are the differences between your feet and the duck feet?
- What makes your feet special?
- How many toes do you have?
- Do ducks have toes?
- What are webbed feet? Why do ducks have webbed feet? (If you have access to a swimming pool and flippers you could show this first hand!!)
Of course – but this is perhaps only specific to my two… they wanted to paint their own feet!
It added to the fun – we painted footprints onto the paper – and onto the pathway, and without any prompting they compared their own footprints to the ducks…
I can only recommend both this book and this fun activity!
Identity is such a big thing for children, and their own feet vs duck feet provide more entertainment – and learning – that you could possibly imagine!
I’m Me! I’m Special is a wonderful self esteem boosting conversation to have!
If you would like to see 50 MORE Book + Story Crafts, click here… I have joined up with some other fantastic bloggers and creators who are all sharing their own ideas!!
