Nancy Stewart

This is one of my all-time favorite finger plays! Children always join in the motions, and always sing! I use it around Thanksgiving time, but it's great year-round. Read below for additional ideas about how to use this song in the classroom.

Mr. Turkey and Mr. Duck

Begin with hands behind your back
Mr. Turkey went out one day
In bright sunshiny weather
He met Mr. Duck along the way
They stopped to talk together
Gobble, gobble, gobble, quack, quack, quack
Gobble, gobble, gobble, quack, quack, quack
And then they both went back
Quack! (Spoken)

The variations below are a great way to use this song as a simple dramatic play. Before you do them, talk about how turkeys strut and ducks waddle. Have the children practice doing each.

VARIATION 1: This first version is great as a performance piece for school programs. It takes next to no practice, and parents will see their child's full character come to life!

Have half the children standing in a line facing the other half of the children. One side will be the turkeys, and the other side will be ducks. Demonstrate how the turkeys will "strut" halfway and stop. Then the ducks waddle to meet them. Have the turkeys practice their lines (gobble, gobble, gobble) and the ducks… (quack, quack, quack). Repeat, and then they all turn and walk back to where they started.