Our class loves bunnies! Who doesn't?! They're so cute and fluffy, and there's a million activities you can do with this theme. There's no way we could fit them all into one day!
On Monday, we read the first Knuffle Bunny book by Mo Willems. I told the kids that we would finish the series by reading the next two books, which is exactly what we did on Wednesday. They really got into these books! I think they're great, because the stories are simple, and when you have all three books, the kids can make comparisons between them. We read this one during Circle:
In the first book, Trixie is a toddler who loses Knuffle Bunny at the laundromat, and by the second book, she is in pre-k and her bunny gets mixed up with a classmate's bunny, that is *almost* exactly like Trixie's.
At the math center, the kids used foam bunnies to make AB patterns (blue, pink, blue, pink or pink, blue, pink, blue)...
...and they also matched mini carrots 1-12 onto the number line. We have been focusing on number recognition, and the children are getting lots of good practice matching and being able to pick out the correct number that we ask them to find.
For our art project, we created Knuffle Bunny in the washing machine! (This is from the first story.) It's hard to tell from the picture, but the plate that has the circle cut out has plastic wrap over it, to make it look like the window in the washer. Knuffle Bunny took a bath and got all nice and squeaky clean!
Feed the Bunny was very popular yesterday! We asked the kids to pick some carrots from the carrot patch to feed to the bunny. They enjoyed petting and feeding the bunny, and re-planting the carrots in the patch. We even had a giant carrot for the bunny to nibble on!
At the writing center, there were 3 carrot "eggs", each one containing a different word - bunny, carrot and hop. The kids were asked to copy each word on a blank sheet of paper, and they did an outstanding job! Do I expect them to be able to read these words, or to copy them correctly? No. This center was mainly a fun activity, designed to encourage the children to write and draw, which helps to strengthen their fine motor muscles. They will need them when they go to big kid school!
Most of the kids painted carrots at the easel, and their paintings are amazing! Please take a moment to check them out in the hallway. This is just a sampling, and you can see that all four of these masterpieces are unique. Keep in mind that this really is amazing, especially since they didn't have a sample to look at. We just encouraged them to visualize a carrot in their heads, and this is what they came up with. Fantastic!
At the end of class, we read:
In the third book, Trixie misplaces Knuffle Bunny on an airplane, and decides that she'll be ok without him. This one is really heartwarming, and I always tear up a little at the end. You should really check out this series at the library or bookstore. You will love it as much as your kids!
Hop on over to Pigeon Presents! for more Knuffle Bunny activities, printables, puzzles and even a video! Then check out Go Mo for an online Knuffle Bunny baggage claim game. Have fun!
