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Saturday, 12 March 2016

Easter ideas and activities for young children

 I have been busy creating Easter themed resources to help promote numeracy and other skills.  The chicks were simple to create, using a basic template.  I have discovered a really easy way to create templates and stencils:  get a clear plastic sheet - I use acetate, but you could use a sealed clear laminating sheet; bring up a picture that you want on an ipad or tablet (or you might find a picture in a child's colouring book); place the plastic on top, and trace it with a permanent fine-tip marker pen.
 These chicks were cut out of craft foam using a template.  I got 20 chicks out of one A4 sheet.  I numbered ten chicks from 1-10, and left the other ten blank.  Craft foam is really easy to use, to draw on, to cut, and doesn't rip or tear so is durable with young children.  You could use the chicks for singing "5 Little Ducks" or convert that song to "5 Little Chicks". You could play games by throwing a dice and giving your chick that many eggs.
The numbered chicks can be used for ordering and sequencing; a fun game is where you take away one chick and the child has to figure out which number is missing. Also once the chicks are put into numerical order, give each chick the corresponding number of eggs.

I created a little egg template and drew around it to create lots of mini paper eggs - I used strips of card to make the eggs.

Easter Egg hunt.  We will be having an easter egg hunt this year.  I find that when you hunt for chocolate eggs, some children find lots of eggs and others get disappointed because they haven't found many.  The way I deal with this is by not hiding chocolate eggs - we hide paper easter eggs that the children have coloured in (which develops pencil control and skill; and colouring in easter eggs can help to motivate even the most reluctant artist). We usually spend a week making paper Easter eggs, ready for the Easter egg hunt.  This means we can hide lots and lots of eggs,  and the children then trade their paper eggs for a chocolate egg.  I use a simple cardboard template that I made a number of years ago now, and still use every year, and draw around it in black marker pen.  I draw some patterns in on some eggs,and the rest I leave blank for children to create their own designs.  The children colour them in and cut them out.

Pompoms
These pom-poms were really simple and fun to make and just used the bits and scraps of wool that I had.  Add a little orange felt triangle and two googly eyes to a yellow or orange pom-pom and you have a little chick.  Add two green felt feet and two googly eyes to a green pompom, and you have a frog.  Or just have a little basket full of bright colourful pom-poms and children can pretend they are Easter Eggs.  I will do a separate blog-post detailing how to make the pom-poms. 
 The Easter Bunny
These bunnies were created with a simple template that I made, and traced around it onto white craft foam.  I got 10 Easter bunnies out of 1 x A4 white foam sheet.  I filled in the details of the face and ears with felt tip pens and a black fine tip Sharpie.
You can use these bunnies for counting songs, stories, small world play and whatever else you or the children can think of.

Carrots for the Easter Bunny
These carrots are for feeding the Easter Bunny.  They are made out of craft foam. I drew one carrot, cut it out and traced around it to create the rest of the carrots.  I coloured in the tops of the carrots using a green sharpie, and drew the details in using a pencil.


 Easter Eggs - Number Matching
This is a simple numeracy activity that involves matching the number of dots to the the correct numeral.  These eggs were made out of craft foam, using a cardboard egg template. Once I had cut out the eggs, I used a Sharpie pen to write the numbers and do the dots, and then I cut the eggs in half. 

Cutting and Paper Folding
The children at school love cutting - cutting up paper, cutting up magazines, cutting out pictures.. if it is able to be cut, they want to cut it.  I have recently started showing children how to fold paper to cut, to create designs etc.  This is a really simple activity that teaches children about symmetry, as well as developing cutting skills, as it requires cutting around curves, which is a tricky skill for children.
Simply fold a piece of paper (it doesn't have to be in half), and on one side, draw half a rabbit. Cut out. Draw on eyes, nose, and mouth.
 

You could do the same for Easter Eggs, butterflies - anything that is symmetrical.

Easter Bunnies
 These bunnies are for small world play.  I am still figuring out the design (I'm just making it up as I go and adjust it slightly for each one). On the back of the rabbits is a little pom-pom for a tail.


Some Rabbit songs you could sing with the children...

Mrs Bunny
Mrs Bunny looks funny when she wriggles her nose
Mrs Bunny looks funny when she wriggles her toes
Two floppy ears and two big feet
I love Mrs Bunny 'cos she's so neat.

Mrs Bunny stretches
Mrs Bunny flops
Mrs Bunny hops and hops and hops and
Mrs Bunny hops and stops!


Oma Rapeti
Oma rapeti
Oma rapeti
Oma, oma, oma
Oma rapeti
Oma rapeti
Oma, oma, oma

Pako! Pako! Pako!
Goes the farmers gun
Oma rapeti, oma rapeti
Oma, oma, oma.

Run, rabbit
Run, rabbit,
Run, run, run,
Run, rabbit
Run, rabbit
Run, run, run.

Bang! Bang! Bang!
Goes the farmers gun
Run, rabbit, run, rabbit,
Run, run, run.


Sleeping Bunnies
(Tune: First verse - Baa baa black sheep)
Look at all the bunnies sleeping
till its nearly noon
shall we wake them
with a merry tune.

Why so still?
Are they ill?
Up little bunnies, up, up, up!
Jump little bunnies, jump, jump, jump!
Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop!
Stop little bunnies, stop, stop, stop!

 Mister Rabbit
I love this little ditty about Mister Rabbit! So cute and a fun message.
Mister Rabbit - Youtube


5 Little Chicks
5 little chicks went out one day
Over the hills and far away
Mother hen called, "Cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck"
But only 4 little chicks came back.

(continue until no little chicks came back etc etc)

Ten Little Bunny Rabbits
(Tune: Ten Little Indians)
1 little, 2 little, 3 little bunny rabbits
4 little, 5 little,, 6 little bunny rabbits
7 little, ,8 little, 9 little bunny rabbits
10 little bunny rabbits.

10 little, 9 little, 8 little bunny rabbits
7 little, 6 little, 5 little bunny rabbits
4 little, 3 little, 2 little bunny rabbits
1 little bunny rabbit!


Click on the link for more of my teaching resources

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