A little bunny finds an egg, what could be inside?  How will he find out?  This is a classic first mystery story for children.

Materials

• Pictures of 5 animals that come from eggs
• One hard boiled egg
• Lots of plastic Easter eggs
• Enough plastic eggs for everyone in the class to hold one.  Fill them with rice, penny, paperclip, etc.  You will need two of each egg.  Tape them closed so the children can not open them.
• Duck-Rabbit flannel
• Pre-made egg shapes 1-10 and many paperclips.
• Several plastic cups, a piece of string and small sponge for each, a bowl of water.

Vocabulary

•  Mystery (something secret)

Before Reading the Story

            Put a hard boiled egg inside of a small bag.  Tell the children that you brought something in your bag but it is a mystery.  Shake the bag; can anyone guess what it is?  Give the children clues and see if they can guess (it comes in many colors and sometimes is even speckled, we can eat it, it’s shaped like an oval, it comes from a reptile or a bird).  Have a child put their hand in the bag and feel the egg.  If they still do not guess, have a child pull it out of the bag.  Tell the children that birds like chickens and cardinals/bird in your area come out of eggs.  Show the children several pictures of other animals that come from eggs like alligators, turtles, snakes, birds, and spiders, frogs.

Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; develops increasing abilities to classify, compare, and contrast objects, events, and experiences.

Reading the Story

            After reading the page about what the bunny thought might be in the egg, ask the children what they think is inside?  After reading the part where the bunny threw a little rock, ask the children if throwing a rock at it was a good idea?  What could the bunny have done besides throwing a rock? 

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; predicts what will happen next in a story. AND Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; develops increasing ability to find more than one solution to a question, task, or problem.

After Reading the Story

              Cut out the animals that come from eggs and cut a piece of construction paper into an oval.  Lay the animals where the children can see them.  Tell the children to close their eyes and count to five.  While they are counting, cover one of the animals with the egg shape.  Can they guess which one is hidden?  Go around your circle letting each child have a turn and play until the children get tired or can easily name the missing animal.

Social & Emotional Development/Cooperation; develops increasing abilities to give and take in interactions; to take turns in playing games or using materials; and to interact without being overly submissive or directive.

Discovery

            Put the plastic eggs into a basket and tell the children that there are pairs that when shaken will make the same sound.  Ask the children to try to find the pairs of eggs by listening carefully while they shake them.

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to use senses and a variety of tools and simple measuring devices to gather information, investigate materials, and observe processes and relationships.

Music and Movement

            Sing some of your favorite songs while everyone shakes an egg. Use your eggs from science or fill enough with rice so that every child has an egg to shake.

Creative Arts/Music; experiments with a variety of musical instruments.

Sing Shake Your Egg to the tune of Jingle Bells

Shake your egg, shake your egg,

Shake it very high

Shake it low, shake it fast,

Shake it very slow

Shake your egg, shake your egg

Shake behind your back

Now shake your egg, shake your egg

And put it in your lap.

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; shows progress infollowing simple and multiple-step directions.

Make the duck/rabbit from resources and use it to teach the children the poem; My Little Yellow Duck

My little yellow duck,

Is really very funny

When you turn him over,

He becomes a little bunny!

(The first time you read the poem…When you turn the duck over to become a bunny, go slowly and see if the children can guess what the duck will become).

Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; grows in recognizing and solving problems through active exploration, including trial and error, and interactions and discussions with peers and adults.

Blocks

            Put several eggs into the center.  Ask the children to build ramps for them to roll down.  Will the egg roll faster or slower if the ramp is higher/lower?  How can you make it so the eggs won’t fall off the ramp?

Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; grows in recognizing and solving problems through active exploration, including trial and error, and interactions and discussions with peers and adults.

Art

            Cut out egg shapes from manila files.  Put out tissue paper squares and a bowl of glue mixed with a little water to thin it out.  Give the children paint brushes to paint the glue onto the egg.  Stick the tissue paper squares on top and add another layer of glue.  The colors will blend to make new colors.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; progresses in abilities to use writing, drawing, and art tools, including, pencils, markers, chalk, paint brushes, and various types of technology.

Sand and Water

            Put egg halves in the sand or water.  The children can use them to scoop/pour and to fill and put together.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; develops growing strength, dexterity, and control needed to use tools such as scissors, paper punch, stapler, and hammer.

Library and Writing

            Ask the children to draw an animal that might be inside an egg.  After they have drawn, place a construction paper egg over their picture.  You can cut out a hole in the egg so it makes a peek through picture.  On the bottom of the egg write; What’s inside Kerry’s egg?  The children can write their own names and these can be stapled together to make a book. 

Creative Arts/Art; progresses in abilities to create drawings, paintings, models, and other art creations that are more detailed, creative, or realistic. AND Literacy/Early Writing; progresses from using scribbles, shapes, or pictures to represent ideas, to using letter-like symbols, to copying and writing familiar words such as their own name.

Dramatic Play

            Let’s cook eggs, either pretend or real.

Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; participates in a variety of dramatic play activities that become more extended and complex.

Math and Manipulatives

            Cut out 1-10 eggs from manila files.  Label them 1-10.  Put the appropriate number of dots along the edge.  Show the children how to put the appropriate number of paperclips onto each egg.  Ask them to place them on the table in the proper 1-10 order.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; develops growing strength, dexterity, and control needed to use tools such as scissors, paper punch, stapler, and hammer. AND Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to associate number concepts, vocabulary, quantities, and written numerals in meaningful ways.

Outdoor Play

            Chicken noise makers.  https://allfortheboys.com/chicken-in-a-cup/ Take a plastic cup and poke two small holes into it.  String the yarn through the holes and tie a knot.  Wet the sponge and run it down the length of the yarn while another child holds the cup.  As you jerk the sponge down the yarn, it makes it squeaky, clucking sound.

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to participate in simple investigations to test observations, discuss and draw conclusions, and form generalizations.

Transitions

Play I’m Thinking. Let the children take turns guessing what you are thinking of. Always start out with a shape. If they cannot come up with something that shape, add more details. (I’m thinking of something that is shaped like an oval, I’m thinking of something that is square that we use to watch videos on).

Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; grows in recognizing and solving problems through active exploration, including trial and error, and interactions and discussions with peers and adults.