How Mother Duck Got Her Eggs

"I'm bored." Those dreaded words that no parent wants to hear when they are up to their eyeballs in a task of their own. But I do want my kids to feel the grasp of boredom occasionally, because without it, they might not become the creative people they could be. (You can read a fantastic article on Mothering.com about this very topic.) On Sunday, when most of the members of the family were otherwise engaged, Paulie and Elizabeth uttered this very phrase...more than once actually. Knowing they sometimes need a little push, I showed them a few pictures from Childhood Magic, and they immediately raced out to the garage looking for the perfect cardboard box, as I knew they would.

The result of boredom, on Sunday at least, was this:

How Mother Duck Got Her Eggs

Once upon a time there was a little island in the middle of a pond. There was a mother duck who lived on the island in the pond.

She had 3 eggs which she was trying to hatch in her little nest.

One day while she was sitting on her eggs waiting for them to hatch, a gnome riding a snail came along. The gnome said, "Are you waiting for your eggs to hatch?" The mother duck told him, "yes." The gnome told her that someone would come help her hatch her eggs.

A few hours later, an old lady came by and she was holding a plant. The old lady said, "Here. Take this plant. It will help your eggs hatch." The mother duck said, "Thank you!" She put the plant on her eggs and sat down again.

The next day, 2 of her eggs hatched. The third one rotted and rolled away. The mother duck said "hello, little babies!" And then she kicked her nest into the water. She would build a new one after the swimming lessons were over. Then she waded into the water and started teaching her ducklings to swim.

The End.

Credits:

1 wooden duck

2 wooden ducklings

1 wooden tree

1 felted nest with 3 wooden eggs

1 wooden gnome riding on a snail

1 wooden sprite

6 dvd cases

1 plastic lid from blank cds

1 flashlight

2 sharpies (for what, I'm not sure)

**story and shadow-puppetry by Paulie

**set design and decoration by Elizabeth

Thank you boredom for coming to visit. We truly enjoyed your inspiration.