Putting The Pretty In Preschool

Finding Beauty In Everyday Early Childhood Experiences

bunnies

Easter Bunny Sensory Bins

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Fun Easter bunny sensory bins featuring two different brightly colored bases. The simple color change gives early learners variety in sensory play.

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These simple, no-fuss Easter bunny sensory bins feature the same accessories added to different bases. The result is two unique sensory play experiences your early learners will embrace.

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Follow me on Pinterest for more ideas.

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Split-Pea Based Easter Bunny Sensory Bin

This naturally colored split-pea-based bunny sensory bin means no dyeing ingredients are needed.

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Green split peas are the base for this first bin. Included in the bin are:

  • Easter baskets
  • bendable bunny
  • pink and orange plastic eggs
  • carrot eggs
  • Easter bunny eggs
  • carrot eraser
  • bunny erasers
  • bunny tongs
This naturally colored split-pea-based Easter bunny and egg sensory bin means no dyeing ingredients are needed.

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Head to your local Target or dollar store to gather accessories for this bin. Just a few items will give your early learners a delightful sensory play opportunity.

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Red Lentil-Based Sensory Bin

This naturally colored split-lentil-based bunny sensory bin means no dyeing ingredients are needed.

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One thing about preparing sensory bins is that you can create any color scheme you like.  I wanted to combine pink, orange, and white hues for this one. The accessories in the bin are the same as above. The split red lentils making the base are actually orange-colored.

The split peas and split lentils used for the bases naturally come in rich, vibrant colors. And so a bonus in preparing these activities is that no dyeing ingredients are needed.

This naturally colored split-lentil-based Easter bunny sensory bin means no dyeing ingredients are needed

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The two different hues give each of the Easter bunny sensory bins a unique feel. Pick one base to add the accessories to and then set the bin out for play. After a few days, switch the accessories over to a bin with the other base. Your early learners will enjoy the new color scheme.

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Silhouette Bunny Art

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Colorful silhouette bunny art made by dabbing dot markers on a canvas. Free template included. An art project for the whole family. This quick and showy art project displays well.

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Easter kind of snuck up on me this year. I didn’t realize until mid-March how early the holiday dates are. I often have time to do Easter activities with my preschoolers in the first part of April, but this year we needed to complete them by March 26 (before Spring Break week.) And so this quick and showy silhouette bunny art project was perfect for our busy time. It is easy to make at home too.

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Supplies To Collect

  • 7-inch x 9-inch canvas panel
  • dot markers in bright spring colors
  • cardstock paper
  • bunny template
  • white pompom
  • white glue

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Making The Silhouette Bunny Art

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Select a canvas or use sturdy art paper for this project. (I purchased canvases at a dollar store for an economical price.) Then cut a bunny shape out of same-sized cardstock.

Feel free to download this bunny template for the art project.

Template for silhouette bunny art or another spring craft project.

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Bunny PrintableDownload

This bunny template is for individual or one classroom use only.

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Carefully center the cardstock with the bunny shape removed on the canvas.

Have your little learner pick a dot marker in a favorite color and dab dots all over the bunny shape, holding the template steady. You may want to help do this, as the cardstock design has a tendency to slip around. And this way you both can practice teamwork and co-operation.

Your early learner can glue on a pompom tail with a dab of white glue when the bunny is dry.

Pink silhouette bunny art made by dabbing dot markers on a canvas. This quick and showy art project displays well.

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You may wish to invite your little learner to create this art project in a few different spring colors or have family members each make one. The colorful bunnies display well together.

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Or you can ask your little learner to do the silhouette bunny art in two different ways. Then mount the canvasses side by side.

Silhouette bunny art made in two ways by dabbing spring-colored dot markers on a canvas. Free template included.

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Tag me on Instagram if you make this art project. I will share your bunny art in my stories!

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Adorable silhouette bunny art made by dabbing spring-colored dot markers on a canvas. Free template included. An art project for the whole family.

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Bunny Rolling Pin Art

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Oversized bunny rolling pin art to add variety to your program offerings. A wiggly eye and cotton ball tail are the finishing touches.

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It was so much fun making shamrock rolling pin art I decided to try the technique in different color schemes with oversized bunnies. The large size of the paper bunnies accommodates longer rolling pins and allows for a unique art experience. This bunny rolling pin art project displays well.

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Follow me on Pinterest for more ideas.

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Supplies To Collect

  • sturdy 12-inch x 18-inch paper
  • large bunny template
  • orange, pink, black, and white tempera paints
  • rolling pins
  • scissors
  • pencil
  • wiggly eyes
  • large cotton balls

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Making The Bunny Rolling Pin Art

Trace and cut out large bunnies from 12-inch x 18-inch sturdy paper. I use manilla paper for this activity…it holds paint well and stays pretty flat while drying. It is also inexpensive to buy.

Allow participants to spatter black and white paint over a bunny, and use a rolling pin to move the paint around in all directions.

A spatter-painted paper bunny ready to be finished with a rolling pin painting technique.

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When dry, have everyone glue on a wiggly eye and cotton ball tail to their hoppy art.

Striking black and white painted bunny using a rolling pin painting technique.

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Black and white painted bunny using a rolling pin painting technique.

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For an entirely different and much softer color scheme, offer orange, pink, and white paints. Invite participants to decorate their bunny the same way.

Steps to creating rolling pin bunny art.

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Cute coral-painted bunny using a rolling pin painting technique.

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Sweet coral painted bunnies using a rolling pin painting technique.

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And to extend the bunny theme into sensory play, this spring bunnies rolling pin would be a beautiful tool to include in playdough activities.

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[Read more…] about Bunny Rolling Pin Art

Bunny Candy Art

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Fun bunny candy art activity with assorted sweets. A happy hoppy food collage project the whole family will enjoy participating in.

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Along with Christmas and Valentine’s Day, Easter is a prime time for sweet treats. Chocolaty treats are popular, as are fruity and sugary ones. And bunnies in all shapes and sizes (and bunny ears) are frequent subjects.

Bunnies can also be created from a candy mix. Your little learners would enjoy this challenge, so why not make happy hoppy bunny candy art with them?

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Follow me on Pinterest for more ideas.

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Supplies To Collect

An assortment of candies for a colorful candy art project or a candy tasting activity.

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  • licorice in assorted shapes and sizes
  • Easter jelly beans
  • candy or chocolate sprinkle covered bunny ears
  • candy sprinkles
  • 12-inch x 12-inch cardstock paper
  • white glue

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Making The Bunny Candy Art

Happy hoppy bunny candy art collage project. An activity the whole family can participate in.

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Set out a sheet of 12-inch x 12-inch cardstock paper for each person participating. Give participants a plate of candy to create a bunny-themed collage with. In addition to incorporating the bunny ear treats, candy pieces can be bunny heads, bodies, arms, legs, eyes, and mouths. Jelly beans and sprinkles add color and additional shapes to the pictures.

Have everyone glue the candy designs down to make permanent pictures. Or save the sweet treats for a delectable candy tasting party.

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Carrot Theme Activities

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One of the easiest vegetables to grow in an indoor or outdoor garden is carrots. This makes carrot activities ideal for hands-on nature experiences with young children.

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Carrot theme sensory, art, and baking activities.

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We usually think of carrots as orange, but did you know that they come in a variety of colors? You can purchase a rainbow bunch, which has purple, red, orange, yellow, and white carrots. Being a lover of all things colorful, I chose rainbow carrots for some of the carrot theme activities.

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Carrot Washing Station

A carrot washing station, set up outdoors or in a sensory tub indoors, offers early learners a farm day experience.

Rainbow carrot sensory tub to simulate a carrot washing station.

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Save the tops of the carrots for your little ones to use with a mortar and pestle. View the post by Fairy Dust Teaching called “SMASH, CRUSH, DESTROY! How To Use A Mortar And Pestle In Your Sensory Play” for more information about introducing these implements in early learning activities.

Carrot tops with mortar and pestle for early learners to explore.

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Curled Carrot Hair Portraits

Curled carrots make statement hairdos! On a sturdy piece of paper using felt pens, draw a face. Or have your little learners draw one. Invite them to add carrot hair to the face. Since natural human hair is made up of an array of colors, rainbow carrots work fabulously in this challenge.

Curled carrot hair portrait.

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If the carrot curls straighten, they still make striking hair.

Rainbow carrot hair portrait. An all-ages art activity.

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Carrot Contour Drawings

Contour carrot drawings are the perfect follow-up activity to reading a storybook such as “The Carrot Seed” by Ruth Krauss. And carrots make a superb subject for guided drawing.

Start by showing early learners a large carrot (with a green carrot top.) Hold up the carrot in one hand. Ask them to follow along with their eyes as you air trace around the outside with your other hand. Discuss the long, thin, triangular shape of the carrot, and the delicate lines in the carrot top. Afterward, offer green and orange felt pens and large pieces of paper for little learners to create one.  

Below are drawings preschoolers have made.

Carrot drawings completed by preschoolers.

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Carrot And Bunny Sensory Trays

Little learners love sensory trays with scooping, pouring, sifting, and counting opportunities. Below are two garden-themed trays. They prominently feature carrots and bunnies…a natural pairing!

The first tray has a green split pea base and is simple to put together. It includes:

  • plastic carrot cup with lid
  • rubber bunny woolies
  • ladle
  • wooden numbers
Split pea-based sensory tub with bunny woolies, numbers, ladle, and carrot cup with a lid.

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This second sensory tray is brimming with bunnies, carrots, numbers, and gems. Green split peas and black beans are the base ingredients.

Carrot and bunny-themed sensory tray.

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Carrot Measurement

A rectangular piece of sturdy cardboard, measuring tape, and washed carrots are all that is needed to give early learners practice in measuring the length of these crunchy vegetables.

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Along with offering carrots in early learning activities, include them in snacks too. And this Roasted Rainbow Carrot recipe from the Food Network Kitchen makes a colorful and appetizing addition to any meal.

Do you have a favorite carrot activity?  Share in a comment below.

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Related: Jumbo Carrot Paint Prints Video

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Printmaking with jumbo carrots. The paint colors used are inspired by rainbow carrots. This is an all-ages art activity.

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Easter Sensory Tub

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Easter sensory tub with water as a base. Bunnies, eggs, and Easter baskets are the theme of the tub.

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With so many craft supplies and basket fillers available to purchase, a colorful Easter sensory tub is easy to put together.  Easter bunnies have taken over this water-based sensory table.  I hope they get back to work soon to finish delivering their Easter eggs!

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Easter sensory items in the water table:

  • plastic eggs (various sizes)
  • egg holders
  • egg-shaped gems
  • salad tweezers/clamps
  • Easter-themed erasers and cookie cutters
  • bendable bunnies (various sizes)
  • plastic bunny candy cups
  • Easter baskets
  • food coloring of choice

Neon green food coloring is used in this activity.  I’ve used pink, purple or yellow food coloring in the past.

Easter sensory tub with water as a base. Bunnies, eggs, and Easter baskets are the theme of the tub.

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Do you have a suggestion for something I could add to this Easter sensory tub?  I’d love to hear about it.

For more activities, check my Pinterest Board Easter.

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Spring Bunny Canvas Art

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Spring bunny canvas art with paint dabber technique. An easy-to-do all-ages art activity.

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The birds are chirping, and there is excitement in the air. Everyone seems to have a skip in their step. I think it is because spring has come early to our city and… it’s the Easter long weekend!


Here’s an easy spring bunny art activity that will add some hop to the skip, and be sure to keep everyone’s good mood up.

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Spring Bunny Canvas Art

A few simple supplies are all that is needed for this activity:

  • white canvas panel (12-inch x 18-inch)
  • non-toxic paint dot markers
  • colored cardstock
  • bunny template
  • scissors

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The Bunny Canvas Art Process

Trace a bunny on colored cardstock in a size that leaves room to paint dab around it on the canvas board. I sized the bunny to fit just inside the edges of an 8 x 11 ½ piece of paper.

Cut out the cardstock bunny and place it in the middle of the canvas board.

Choose your favorite dot marker colors.

Dab paint dots around the bunny template.

Let the canvas dry.

Dot markers used to paint around a bunny template on canvas. An easy art activity suitable for all ages.

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For this project, I used an inexpensive canvas board from a Dollar Store.

The dot paint markers were a great find at Michaels. I was excited to see so many colors in the package! I chose blue and teal, inspired by a bunny art project I had seen painted in similar tones. Your favorite color scheme would work just as well.

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This spring bunny paint project dries quickly…a real plus. It can be displayed on a small easel along with matching decor.

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Easy dot marker Spring bunny canvas art suitable for all ages. This is an attractive art activity to display.

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