The Bright Bunnies enjoyed their Rolli Polli Gym session once again. In addition to developing stronger, healthier bones, Rolli Polli promotes overall strength and fitness. When performing the body strengthening exercises involved with gymnastics, children will enhance their upper body, lower body, and overall core strength as a result. Not to mention how much fun it is.

Today we played with all kinds of chants, poems, and songs. We are supporting vocal development with the Bright Bunnies by integrating a variety of vocal experiences, including speaking, singing, and playing with vocal sounds. Vocal play encourages the Bright Bunnies to explore how to use the voice in different ways, speaking or singing loudly or quietly, quickly or slowly, or in high or low tones. Supporting vocal development in this way not only strengthens the children’s musical abilities but their communication skills as well.

The Bright Bunnies children extended their knowledge and understanding of the planet we live in. They carefully observed some pictures of planet Earth and identified its main characteristics with the help of their art teacher. They made paper plate planets by printing cute spotty patterns with bubble wrap paper pieces and painting them with different hues of blue and green paint.

Body awareness is part of self-awareness. Inviting the Bright Bunnies to play with the blocks on different parts of their bodies can ignite the thinking process about other ways to play. As ideas begin to flow, children will think of other body parts to tap into and see how their bodies move and work to make their ideas happen. As the children see others imitate their ideas, they will also delight in knowing that they are contributing creatively to the group.

The Bright Bunnies children made flower crafts during one of their visual arts lessons. First, they looked at some flower pictures and identified the flowers’ main features. Next, they chose flower parts according to their likes and threaded them along with some colourful beads. Small or big flowers, every single one of them is just amazingly beautiful.

Mother’s Day is right around the corner, which means that the Bunnies have been working on preparing beautiful gifts and memorable songs for their mummies. They have also been learning and expanding their knowledge of patterns. Pattern awareness plays a significant role in developing spatial thinking, and according to research, the ability to see mathematical patterns can predict later math achievement. The Bunnies are mastering those fundamental skills.

An activity like ’Grasshoppers Three’, where we play bells to a lively song, is a potent developmental tool. When the Bright Bunnies play their bells in different ways, such as up high and then down low, they increase their body awareness as they move intentionally to imitate our modelling. They learn spatial awareness as they move the bells over their heads and down by their toes. They improve their coordination by learning to control the movement of their arms and hands. Becoming familiar with the movement of our limbs on dancers, construction workers, or just navigating an ordinary day.

The Bright Bunnies children made baby chicks during their visual arts lesson. First, they observed pictures of baby chicks and identified their main physical characteristics. They practised the use of scissors and cut circle chick body samples out on their outlines, painted them yellow with forks, and glued other body parts, such as feathers, paper beaks, wiggly eyes, and feet to their baby chicks.

It has been all about Easter the past two weeks. The Bunnies have been practising for the assembly and doing all types of amazing artwork as presents for their parents. We are extremely proud of them for their performance today. After the assembly, we went to the garden to play fun games and have a dance party. The highlight of the day was the Easter Egg Hunt. Everyone had a blast searching for eggs and filling their baskets with yummy chocolate.

What a busy week in Bright Bunnies class. Children were working on their Charity Fashion Show looks and were all superstars walking the runway with confidence. They all made us proud.

Our little artists also worked hard on their art pieces together and created something really special for everyone to take home.

Circle dances offer a unique opportunity for imitative play that involves our whole community. As we stand facing one another, the lines are blurred between leading and following. In fact, the Bright Bunnies are doing both of those things at the same time. This is reciprocal teamwork that results in a feeling of interdependence.

The Bright Bunnies children extended their knowledge and understanding of the spring season during one of their visual arts lessons. First, they looked at some signs of spring with their art teacher, such as daffodils, crocuses, snowdrops, and blossom trees. Then, they observed various pictures of blossom trees and talked about their main features with the help of their teacher. At last, they challenged themselves and made Japanese cherry blossom trees to the best of their knowledge. They painted tree trunks, crumbled silk paper pieces, and glued them onto their cherry blossom trees according to their preferences.

The Bright Bunnies have been learning a lot and engaging in active inquiries in the past few weeks. We started a new unit titled ‘Life cycles’. The children are learning that animals go through a series of life stages and changes. Butterflies have been the main topic this week; the children were supervised to learn that a butterfly starts with an egg which hatches into a caterpillar; the caterpillar turns into a chrysalis and then to the last stage, where they become a butterfly. Teaching children about lifecycles is a perfect way to help them understand the world around them and connect with nature. The Bunnies engaged in some craft fun to make colourful caterpillars and butterflies. The most popular activity was the investigation corner, where they used magnifying glasses to investigate the different butterflies and patterns.

Circle dances come from the wonderful tradition of communities dancing together, a tradition that is timeless in origin and yet relevant today in its capacity to foster togetherness. Dancing in a circle benefits the mind, body, and spirit. “Circle dance is a very accessible form of dance for people of all ages and abilities, with the emphasis on participation, not performance.” (Michaelsen)

As the Bright Bunnies cooperate together to do the steps of the dance, they are watching one another, imitating one another’s moves, and making eye contact, all in a context of play and enjoyment. This experience creates a sense of belonging and contribution.

The Bright Bunnies children made cute caterpillars during one of their visual arts lessons. First, they read ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ story with their art teacher and extended their knowledge and understanding of the butterfly life cycle. Then, they cut green paper leaves on their outlines with scissors, drew veins on the leaves with black markers, thread beads on pipe cleaners, and glued them on the leaves with liquid glue.

The Bright Bunnies children are focusing on the benefits of working together as a team recently. Therefore, they made a giant Valentine’s Day-themed poster during one of their visual arts lessons. They worked together effectively and shared the parts between them cooperatively. They used Valentine’s Day-themed colours, such as pink, red, purple, and blue. They painted the poster enthusiastically and added some extra heart symbols to their likes as well.

Bright Bunnies were lucky enough to experience some snow while they were at the nursery. They were very excited seeing snowfall and wanted to go outside and play. They had plenty of fun and we wanted to take this experience further, we decided to read the story called ‘The Snowy Day’ by Ezra Jack Keats recalling our freshly made memories outside and experiences from the past.

Today the Bright Bunnies enjoyed some echo and imitation activities as we sang, danced, and played. Imitation and echo are powerful teaching tools throughout our lives. Think of those times sitting around the campfire learning new songs, repeating words and phrases after the teacher in school, or copying steps to a new dance. To learn the three-beat rhythm of the minute, we experienced the rhythm by repeating familiar three-syllable words, reproduced the rhythm by playing it as body percussion, then learned the movements now and will help them when they study an instrument or sing or play in an ensemble later on.

This past week, we had pony riding, which the Bunnies enjoy greatly every time. We might not easily associate the two, but besides being fun, pony riding is also a form of exercise, another way to enhance the outdoor experience. The Bunnies are also learning valuable lessons through interactions with the ponies. They are learning a lot about respect and discipline. Riding a pony requires a commitment to both respect and behave responsibly towards the animal at all times, qualities which will greatly benefit the children as they progress towards adulthood.

Movement and language are great partners. As you dance or blow bubbles and label your movements with words like up and down, you are helping the Bright Bunnies brain create new connections around these concepts. You can sing along, labeling your movements or describing the movements your child is choosing. Either way, you are encouraging your child’s language and learning.

The Bright Bunnies children started to prepare their outstanding art pieces for our upcoming art exhibition. They created spring-themed meadows from silk paper pieces and overlapped them in various ways. They used glue spreaders to smartly manipulate liquid glue. At last, they glued various pre-cut silk paper flowerheads on the fields and made beautiful spring-themed art pieces. The children enjoyed the creative process greatly.

Big bounces have big benefits. Watch your child for cues and see if he/she likes to be bounced extra high or enjoys a surprise wiggle or drop-many children enjoy the physical sensation of experiencing something slightly unexpected. Bounces are a great workout for the Bright Bunnies stabilizing muscles that are necessary for healthy posture and overall balance. A silly surprise during a bounce is a fun way to strengthen those important tummy muscles.

The Bright Bunnies children made snowmen artwork during one of their visual arts lessons. First, they observed a few snowmen pictures and identified their main features with their art teacher. Then, they made snowmen using buttons, cotton pads, pre-cut hat paper pieces, felt sheet scarves, foam triangle noses, medium, and big paper circles, pine needles, and small black paper circles, and personalized them according to their preferences.

The Bright Bunnies were practising how to work together as a team in this fun trust-building activity. Learning to work as part of a team is helping them hone many social skills, such as patience, empathy, communication, respect for others, compromise and tolerance. It also helps them develop confidence in themselves and trust in other people.

Imaginative play in childhood prepares the child to think creatively in a variety of settings throughout their lives. When the Bright Bunnies engage in pretend-play with a prop, they shift from the question, “What does this object do?” to a slightly different question, “What can I do with this object?” The object itself ceases to be the primary focus of concern as the child incorporates the object into play in which the child chooses the meaning and goals. Through repeated exploratory experiences, the child discovers that every object has unlimited possibilities for use. Using the imagination helps the Bright Bunnies develop the ability to think abstractly, to use language to describe things others cannot see, and to empathize with other people.

The Bright Bunnies children learned a lot of interesting things about the Christmas season and made fork-painted Christmas trees and beaded snowflakes during their visual arts lessons. They painted Christmas trees with forks and decorated them with shiny Christmas-themed sequins and tree toppers according to their likes. Also, they beaded colourful beads on snowflake samples and created patterns and other colourful designs on them.

The end of the year is fast approaching; since our last update, the Bright Bunnies have been practising very hard for their Christmas performance. Aside from that, they have been learning and strengthening their number sense. You may wonder what exactly that means. They are learning a range of skills that encompass just recognising numbers. The focus skills are quantification, number identification, number order and sequencing, counting with one-to-one correspondence, conservation of numbers (understanding that the number of objects is always the same even when rearranged) and subitising (automatic recognition of set quantities). They are all doing a fantastic job.

It has been a busy few weeks in the Bright Bunnies class, packed full of fun activities and events. The children were so excited as the Ponies visited us again. They love seeing them and getting better each time riding them. Pony riding is great for children’s health and fitness. Learning to ride can provide a real confidence boost to children of all ages. It teaches self-discipline and control as the experience from start to finish relies on focus. Riding can also improve a child’s ability to problem-solving and handle real-life situations.

An instrument play-along provides many opportunities to practice social skills. We ask the Bright Bunnies to get instruments for themselves, they wait their turn, interact with their friends as they play, and at the end, they work with the group to put the instruments away and get ready for the next activity. These are big steps in the development of cooperation, relationships, and empathy.

The Bright Bunnies children made some cut Thanksgiving decorations for our Thanksgiving celebration during one of their visual arts lessons. The children practised their scissors skills and cut simple turkey parts out on their outlines. They coloured and designed their samples with oil pastels and made colourful patterns on them. At last, they glued the body parts together and decorated their colourful Thanksgiving turkey animals with pompoms, wiggly eyes, and colourful feather pieces.

You may wonder what the Bright Bunnies have been up to since returning from the autumn break. We have been busy playing, learning and building friendships. The Bunnies have been working hard on their Jolly Phonics, discovering new sounds through a multisensory approach. We started a new unit of inquiry titled “Imagination”. The Bunnies have been doing various activities through art that showcase their creativity.

You just cannot say it too many times: I love you. It is such an important message for the Bright Bunnies to hear, whether you say, sing, or sign it! Knowing that they are loved unconditionally is one piece of the emotional puzzle that gives your children the need to become confident, competent learners.

What would you look like if you would be an Elmer-like elephant? What colours and patterns would you have? The Bright Bunnies children used their imagination and challenged themselves to design colourful and busy patterned elephants during one of their visual arts lessons. The children got inspired by the ‘Elmer, the Patchwork Elephant’ story written by David McKee and painted their elephant selves.

The Bright Bunnies were having lots of fun creating their Halloween arts and crafts this week. We were making spiders, pumpkins and ghosts together for this Friday celebration. We used different methods and materials to make our crafts engaging and diverse. We are developing our fine motor skills through these activities and the children are making great progress so far. Bright Bunnies are excited and cannot wait to dress up in their costumes.

Timbre awareness is the musical equivalent of phonemic awareness. It is an auditory skill developed through experience and exposure to many musical sounds. Comparing and contrasting the sounds the bells and shakers make strengthen the same part of the brain that helps the Bright Bunnies listen to distinctions in language sounds.

The Bright Bunnies children made a few Halloween-themed arts and crafts, such as spooky spiders, and scary, but not-so-scary zombies. They painted the zombie faces with sponges and squeezed glue out of the tubes to glue various body parts on them. They painted the spiders with black tempera paint, glued wiggly eyes on them, and shook glitter bottles to sparkle their spooky spider.

The Bright Bunnies children have been learning about the harvest season like harvestable fruit and vegetables. They have been focusing on corn during one of their visual arts lessons. First, we observed some pictures of corn and identified their main physical features. Then, they practised their scissors skills and made beautiful corn crafts from the offered materials.

It is that time of year when we lose the warmth of summer and the long evenings; nature, however, has a lovely way of reminding us of the next season’s beauty. Autumn appears; with it comes cooler weather, beautiful colours, and many treasures falling from trees. Our main fall nature treasure this year is the horse chestnut. The Bunnies have been relishing their time outside and enjoying collecting buckets full of those little round things.

Aside from collecting horse chestnuts, the children have been learning about friendships and what it means to be a good friend. At the end of our discussion, each child drew something nice for a chosen friend as a form of kindness and appreciation.

Taking turns is a learned skill that can be challenging for the Bright Bunnies. Opportunities to take turns while adults are close by to help if needed, as in this activity, give the Bright Bunnies the chance to practice this valuable skill. Children’s ability to take turns will eventually help them make and keep friends, and be more successful at school.

What busy weeks our Bright Bunnies had. We are very proud of them. These weeks we are concentrating on children’s emotional and social skills by helping them interact with their friends and explore their interests. In the class, children have been participating in activities where they learned about their friends, their differences and their similarities. While we also started to work on their individualised learning in the morning, Bright Bunnies are working hard on their fine motor skills.

Emotions have a tremendous impact on learning. Bright Bunnies learn more readily and easily when they feel calm and happy. Learning with and from a beloved adult provides an even stronger learning environment. Simple activities such as rocking together help to create a sense of safety and comfort that lays a strong foundation for your child’s learning to take place. One of the most amazing activities for Bright Bunnies was to show their emotions through movement.

The Bright Bunnies children started their art lessons with our art specialist in the art atelier. First, they made paintings using two or three of their favourite colours only. The children also celebrated International Dot Day during one of their art lessons and read The Dot book written by Peter H. Reynolds. “Make a dot and see where it takes you!” –said the art teacher. The Bright Bunnies children painted beautiful dots using watercolour paint.

Our first two weeks of Kindergarten were a great success. The children from last year are so confident and happy to be part of the Bright Bunnies class; the newer ones are doing a fantastic job settling in. We are pleased to see the group adjusting well to the new environment, friends and to our daily routine. We kicked off the school year with our first Unit of Inquiry, “All about me.” The Bunnies are learning that every person is unique and special; everyone’s thoughts and ideas are important, therefore, should be respected. The Bunnies have learnt the first Jolly Phonics sounds this week. They created an artsy snake to represent the “s” sound.