Easter is a magical time of year for little ones. I clearly remember being around 5 or 6 years old and absolutely SURE I saw the Easter Bunny hopping down the street, human sized and wearing a waistcoat and bow tie! Here are some delightful little rhymes, songs and musical experiences to enchant and nurture those beautiful imaginations. Happy Hopping!
Funny Bunny - A Finger Play
(Author Unknown)
Here is a bunny, with ears so funny (Raise two fingers.)
And here is a hole in the ground. (Make hole with fingers of other hand.)
At the first sound she hears, she pricks up her ears (Straighten fingers.)
And pops right into the ground.
I’m An Easter Bunny - An action rhyme
(Author unknown)
I’m an Easter Bunny, watch me hop, (Hop around.)
Here are my two ears, see how they flop. (Hold hands at sides of head and flop them.)
Here is my cotton tail, here is my nose, (Wiggle your hips, then twitch your nose.)
I’m all furry from my head to my toes. (Point to head, then to toes.)
The Bunny Pokey - A festive dance!
You put your bunny ears in, you take your bunny ears out,
You put your bunny ears in and you flop them all about.
You do the Bunny Pokey and you hop around,
That's what it's all about!
Oh the Bunny Pokey! Oh the Bunny Pokey!
Oh the Bunny Pokey! And that's what it's all about!
You put your twitchy nose in....... and twitch it all about!
You put your thumper feet in....... and thump them all about!
You put your cotton tail in.......... and wiggle it all about!
Little Peter Rabbit - An adaptable movement verse
Little Peter Rabbit had a fly upon his nose
Little Peter Rabbit had a fly upon his nose
Little Peter Rabbit had a fly upon his nose
And he flipped it and he flopped it till it flew right away!
Little ______ Rabbit had a fly upon his _____
Little ______ Rabbit had a fly upon his _____
Little ______ Rabbit had a fly upon his _____
And he flipped it and he flopped it till it flew right away!
Sleeping Bunnies - A musical game
Do you know the rhyme "See the Bunnies Sleeping"? It is such a lovely little song. Well what I do is have the children sitting in a circle. One child will be chosen to be the sleeping bunny in the middle, dressed up in their bunny finery! Then we all sing together: "See the bunny sleeping, til it's nearly noon. Shall we wake him with our merry tune?" Then I will choose someone from the circle to sneak forward to the sleeping bunny, tap them gently singing "Oh so still, asleep until...." and scoot back.We will then all call out "Wake up little bunny!"
The child in the middle will have three chances to guess who snuck up on him while he was sleeping! When the children has guessed (or used up his 3 chances) I will say "Time to hop little bunnies!" and all the children will stand in the circle and bounce up and down as we sing "Hop little bunnies hop hop hop, hop hop hop, hop hop hop. Hop little bunnies hop hop hop. Hop hop and stop" and everyone sits down again. Then a new little bunny is chosen. You can change the movements at the end too if you like, you could say "Time to skip little bunnies!" Or trot, or run or tiptoe!
(I bought my bunny set from the Reject Shop for $3)
Musical Eggs - Making percussion instruments
I love stocking up on festive bits and pieces at Easter and Christmas that can be used for wonderful fun and learning long after the festivities have concluded! Take these hollow, "pop open" plastic eggs for example - I'm sure you have seen these all around town and you should snap some up now before they go! They make the most delightful "shaker eggs" by filling them with rice, sealing with tape a...nd then paper mache-ing all over with different coloured tissue papers and a glossy layer of PVA. A perfect percussion instrument that every child can create, perfect for music and movement experiences. You can also make some lovely sensory eggs for little hands to shake and little ears to listen to, identify, and match sounds. Try filling the eggs with bells, little pebbles, sand, even water (seal the eggs securely). Keep them in a woven basket or better yet, in a real egg carton!
Enjoy your music and movement adventures and lots of delicious hot cross buns too!
Happy Easter to you all!
Ballerina Bunny will be sharing enchanting stories and songs in her show "Easter Tales with Ballerina Bunny" all throughout Perth, Western Australia this Easter!