MSU Extension Child & Family Development

A little bunny tells his mother how he will run away from her but she finds a way to follow him and protect him every time.

BEFORE READING:

• Show the children the front of the book. Ask them to guess what the book is about.
• Count the flowers on the cover together.
• Ask them what they think the animal on the cover is doing.

WHILE READING:

• Stop at any time if there is something you or the children would like to talk about.
• Ask them questions so that they can connect what is happening in the book to things they already know about. Try some of these ideas:
  • Have you ever wanted to be something different?
  • What are some of the places where you have tried to hide?
  • How does it feel when your mother hugs you?

AFTER READING:

• Spend some time talking about the story. Ask the children things like:
  • When the bunny wanted to be a fish, what did his mother say she would become?
  • What other things did the bunny say he would turn into?
  • What did the bunny do at the end?

Read this book several times to children; hearing the same story several times helps them learn new words and understand the ideas they hear better. Each day, pick a different activity to do with the children after reading “Runaway Bunny.”

MUSIC AND MOVEMENT

Using items from the room, help the children become a kid band. Turn over a cooking pot and give them a wooden spoon for a drum. Take an empty toilet paper or paper towel tube and let them use it as a trumpet.

READING READINESS

Say the children’s names aloud. Next, add each letter of the alphabet to the beginning of their name. For example, if the name is Erin, say Aerin, Berin, Cerin, Derin and so on, making up a silly song.

MOTOR SKILLS

Do the bunny hop together. Practice hopping as you go for a walk outside. Hop around the room, or let them hop as you go outside. Count the hops together as they make their way around.

PRETEND PLAY

Pretend to be bunnies for an afternoon. Eat bunny food for lunch, including carrots or other vegetables. Make a bunny nest for naptime by arranging the blankets in a circle on their space.

MATH AND SCIENCE

Pour one cup (8 ounces) of water into a tall drinking cup. Place a shorter drinking cup (make sure it holds one cup of water as well) next to the tall one. Ask the children if they think the shorter cup will hold the same amount of water. Pour the water from the tall cup into the short cup as they watch.

ART

Make a bunny together. Glue or tape two paper plates together. Using scissors, cut out ears and glue or tape them at the top. On one side, draw a bunny face. On the other side, glue a cotton ball or a balled up tissue to make a tail.

THINKING SKILLS

Allow the children to have a “Choice Day”. Give them choices between two things throughout the day. Let them choose between two types of cereal for breakfast, or one of two books to read at story time.

For more information, visit the MSU Extension early childhood development site.