Daniel’s Duck





If you’ve stumbled here from Pinterest, or some other site … welcome! While each of these books/lessons can stand alone, they are also a part of a year-long series that we have taught at our homeschool co-op. Each lesson builds in part on the one before. Some stories also have similar themes with the books that go before/after them. If you are interested in more information, or to see the complete booklist, check out our main page, More FIAR – Inspired Literature-Based Lesson Plans, especially for homeschool and homeschool co-ops. Thanks for looking around, and welcome to the site!

Daniel’s Duck

by Clyde Robert Bulla

What I Need:

Daniel’s Duck Book
Daniel’s Duck Handwriting Sheet
US Map showing Tennessee and Appalachian Mountains
Let’s Go to the Fair Sheet

*Optional:
Since this wrapped up a 3 week unit of our Appalachia study, we concluded with a sampling of pinto beans and cornbread. If you have time, organize a pot luck sampling of Appalachia foods or take the opportunity studing the County Fair and have everyone bring a Fair food or something they have made to show and share.

Review from Last Week:

Who can tell me what we have been learning about the last two weeks?  (Mountains, Mountain Life)
Does anyone remember the specific name of the Mountain Range we’ve been looking at?
And who can find the Appalachian Mountains on the map?
What are some things you remember about Mountain Life (less people, simple life, don’t have city luxuries or resources, hard work, harder to get running water, electricty, supplies, etc) 

The setting of our last two books has been in the Appalachian Mountains.

Introduce the Book:

Today’s book is the 3rd in our Mountain Series, and it also takes place in the Appalachian Mountains, in the state of Tennessee.

The main character of our book is Daniel. And Daniel has been watching his dad and his brother carve. And now he wants a turn, but he’s young. Do you think he is going to be able to make it as well as his dad and brother?

The setting of the story is a Long Cabin in the Tennessee Mountains, probably about 100+ years ago.

Can we tell any more about the time period based on some of the things we see (horse drawn carriages, outdoor cooking, log cabin, spinning wheel, etc)

Read the Story:

Questions while Reading:

  • What would you make for the Fair? 
  • “You’ll see” – Do you ever have a special project you’re working on and you don’t want anyone to see until your done?

After the Story:

There are a number of different ways you can take this discussion – here are a few ideas.

  • What is something you have made that you’re proud of?
  • Would you be sad if your brothers or sisters or friends laughed at a special thing you made?
  • Was Daniel sad when he heard the laughing?
  • What made him finally feel better?


What can we learn from this – Daniel trusted the voice of Mr. Pettigrew

Can someone be laughing with you instead of at you?


What can we do if someone makes fun of something we’ve made or done?
Talk to Mom or Dad, they love you and will tell you what’s true
If you know the truth deep within, it makes it easier to shake off what they’ve said.

The verse you’re going to trace today is to “do your work heartily as to the Lord, and not to men” – sometimes, we just have to let go of what people are saying and look up to the Lord and just try to please him. When Henry Pettigrew said Daniel’s work was okay, Daniel was able to let go off all of his embarrasment and shame and the hurt and remember that yes, his work was okay, the expert had said so.

The County Fair! 

Compare the Fair 100 years ago to the Fair today.

When we go to a fair today, we usually think about rides, and treats – like fried dough and cotton candy. But 100 years ago, the fair was needed to survive! It was a coming tgether and sharing of homemade goods at the end of a hard winter. It was the celebration and traiding of crops at the end of a hard-worked summer. All year long, everyone had been working at the thing that they did best, diligently planting, raising livestock, making jams and jellies and quilts.

Point to Emphasize:


Each one had their own skill, and each
used their skill to share with the others. Use the handout below and encourage them to draw a picture … If YOU were to make something to share at the fair,
what would YOU make?  

Click here for printable version

Handwriting Sheet

This verse was a great reminder and go-along for this book, as a reminder that whatever we do, let our work be for the Lord, and nor for men. That way, even if someone laughs at us, or says something unkind, we can shake off those hurtful words, knowing that our aim is to please God, and not men.
Remind the class to start their letters at the top. 
Click here for printable version

That’s it for this week – and for our 3 week visit to Appalachia! If you have another week, go ahead and throw in Down, Down the Mountain. This is another FIAR book and it really goes perfectly with Daniel’s Duck, especially touching on  the importance of the county fair in Appalachian Culture.  


To see what we’ve done so far in our Homeschool Co-op’s Literature Series this year, click here. Each lesson  builds on the one before and seeks to cover basic geography within the book, historical contexts, a handwriting sheet and a language arts lesson, as it applies to the book. 


Or, you can check out the complete Learning the ABC’s through Literature Series, which is a similar series that we did with this same group of kiddos a year earlier. Both of these series of books have been inspired by the Five in a Row curriculum, with many of the books being the same. The ideas, implementation of it for a co-op, and printables are all my own, unless otherwise indicated. Thanks for stopping by to check it out!