This is one of my favourite books to read during book time with my munchkins. A very suitable read when the child is able to sit upright without support or for pre-schoolers.
Apart from prepping the children with their first experiences for trips to the doctor, school and travel, the other interesting part of the book is that there is a duck on every double page spread. The little ones would have endless fun competing to find the duck first.
A simple and fun Hide & Seek game can be extended from the book to the comfort of your own home. This is more suitable for the little ones who can walk independently.
Here's what you need: A rubber duck or a soft toy duck :)
Then, set the rules and it's time to play!
THE GAME!
Take turns to hide and find the duck at home at pre-agreed places like the living room, bedroom, garden, patio etc. It is a good way tointroduce the little ones to the different areas of your home,and learn to understand /follow instructions with simple rules of the game.
The seeker(s) will count to 10 before heading off to complete the task. That is a fun way to introduce counting to the toddlers. The other party will have to find a good hiding place for the duck before the counting ends.
For toddlers, however, it would be difficult to get them to stay at a spot so I would usually tag myself to the younger child to count and find the duck together, as well as hide the duck together. You will be surprised that they are able to grasp how the game is played really fast. And they would get very excited when they manage to find the duck on their own. Of course, do place the duck at age appropriate spots at home!
When the child gets the hang of it, we can introduce other cool ways (new words to learn) to hide like their favourite toy, alarm clock etc; just one of the many variations we can do with this game!
EXTENDED LEARNING FOR TODDLERS
Help your child to learn the sounds of various animals using the appropriate stuffed toys for hiding. The seeker makes the sound of the stuffed animal toy he is supposed to find.
‘Where’s the duck? Quack Quack! ‘
‘Where’s the cat? Meow!’
EXTENDED LEARNING FOR AGES 3 – 6
For older children, we can encourage them or come up with ideas themselves to tweak the rules of the game so as to make the game more interesting. Here are some of examples:-
Letting the child decide on the number of counts for the seeker before heading off to find the duck.
‘How many counts (10, 15 or 20) shall we do today?’
E.g. the child may suggest: ‘I have an idea! Let’s do alphabet today! I will look for the duck after singing the alphabet song”
The seeker can ask 3 questions to help guess the location of the duck hidden but the answers can only be a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.
‘Is it in my bedroom?’
‘Is it near the dining area?’
‘Do I have to look upwards for it?’
Engaging them at play and spending quality time together is a wonderful thing. Enjoy!