Prepare a colorful laminated-paper Easter egg for this game. Choose one child to be the bunny rabbit and sit in the center of the circle. He should close his eyes and count to 10. While he’s doing this, give the paper egg to one of the children to sit on. When the bunny has finished counting, the other children chant “Easter bunny, Easter bunny, where’s your egg?” The bunny has three chances to pick the child who’s hiding the egg.
If you are working on number sense with your students, counting rhymes are a great way to reinforce sequences. Kids are even more enthusiastic if they get to incorporate a favorite animal. For a rabbit-themed circle activity in math class, teach your children “Five Little Easter Bunnies.” The rhyme can vary, but you begin by holding up five fingers, reciting “Five little Easter bunnies sitting by the door. One hopped away and then there were four.” You can mime the hopping bunnies with your fingers. Have the children follow you as you count down from five to one, using appropriate rhymes for the other numbers.
This is a variant on Duck, Duck, Goose. Use it on days when you have indoor recess in bad weather, or when your class is feeling extra wriggly. Seat the children in a circle and choose one to be the bunny. He should hop like a bunny around the outside of the circle tapping each child gently on the head, saying “bunny, bunny, bunny” until he taps one child with the name “rabbit.” This child then hops after the original bunny until one of them reaches the rabbit hole (the empty seat).
If you have access to a real rabbit, this can be an extra-special treat for your students, as well as a great lesson. Set the rules carefully before introducing the bunny. All students must sit close, with knees touching, to create an enclosure for the rabbit. Put newspaper in the center of the circle. The rabbit should be allowed to explore freely within the circle. Explain to the children that they cannot reach out and touch the rabbit but only quietly observe. Afterwards, reinforce the learning by asking the children to describe how the rabbit behaved and in what ways it explored its environment.
For a quieter circle-time activity, choose some bunny-themed books to introduce to your students. These can range from well-loved classics to more offbeat choices. Classics can include “The Runaway Bunny” by Margaret Wise Brown and “Guess How Much I Love You” by Sam McBratney. One of the offbeat choices could be Marc Brown’s “The Bionic Bunny Show.”