Guā guā guā guā guā

On our walk to school, in the kitchen, in the car... I hear my daughter, and even my 2 year old, quacking in Mandarin. They are singing Chǒu xiǎo yā, a song the children learned a while back in class. Everyone knows how effective (and fun) it is to learn language through songs. But, getting to the point where you can sing all the words to a song in a foreign language takes quite a bit of repetition for most people, probably more than what the children can get just singing the song in class. So, I found the videos below to help my daughter learn all the words to Chǒu xiǎo yā. The first clip is the version the children should recognize from class. The second is an amusing clip, perhaps from a tv show, where a young man performs some silly gestures and dance moves to a jazzed-up version of the song. If you play the song often enough and maybe even try to sing it yourself, chances are your Mandarin learner will eventually learn all the words. Don't worry so much about your child mastering the meaning of all the words in the song; instead let your learner focus on the sounds and rhythm of the language in the song.
 

丑小鸭 chou xiao ya
The Ugly Duckling
呱呱呱呱呱
guā guā guā guā guā
Quack, quack, quack, quack, quack
丑小鸭，丑小鸭
chǒu xiǎo yā , chǒu xiǎo yā
Ugly little duckling, ugly little duckling
腿儿短短脚掌大
tuǐ ér duǎnduǎn jiǎo zhǎng dà
Legs are short and feet are big.
长长脖子扁嘴巴
chángcháng bózi Biǎn zuǐbā
(With) Long long neck and a flat mouth
走起路来摇摇摇
Zǒu qǐ lù lái yáo yáo yáo
When he is walking, he is always wobbling and swaying
爱到河边去玩耍
ài dào hébiān qù wánshuǎ
He loves to go to the riverside and play
喉咙虽小声音大
hóulóng suī xiǎoshēng yīn dà
Although her throat is little, his voice is big
可是只会呱呱呱
kěshì zhǐ huì guā guā guā
However, he can only quack, quack, quack