Toddler's book: Runaway Bunny 逃家小兔 by Margaret Wise Brown

I love this book,I am not surprised it is still among the top selling toddler's books even though it was first published back in 1942! That's over 70 years ago! It's a book about a young bunny who wants to run away from his mom, yet the mommy bunny would still find a way to find him and continue to look over him. 

It is very few in words, very simple in language, even the illustrations felt very classic but it says soooo much about the love of a mom to a child. I had chills running through the back of my spine when I first flipped through it, it is so simple (I know, I have just mentioned this again), yet it is sooo touching! 

I was initially quite hesitant to introduce this book to little J, cos I did not want to give him any idea of 'running away'. But when I read it, I felt the language of love is so strong, it basically overwhelms the thought of wanting to run away. 

If you or your little toddler haven't yet owned this book, you gotta have it. 

As we read this book, I have also created some crafts and preschool printable packs for little J (32mo). They are perfect for preschoolers, or even those in kindergartens.

After reading the book, enjoy yourselves with the free printables that comes along with the purchase of this book. I have made time and effort to create these fun printables that would encourage active learning.Many of these printables are perfect for "one-to-one correspondence" at home. If you're new to this phrase, check this out, the concept is so fundamental that we often don't put much thought to it. One-to-one correspondence is the ability to match one object to one (corresponding) number or object. 

Example: Placing 2 stars on the mat, when recognizing the number 2 displayed in column. 

This is a foundational math skills for preschoolers, or even those in kindergartens. I place emphasis on this as many children may have started knowing numbers from rote counting (memorizing numbers by counting from 1 to 10), but this is just like singing a song, and have no meaning or sense to them. Therefore, engaging in activities with these printables encourages hands-on learning and also promote problem-solving skills. 

In addition, I create plenty of crafts and coloring activities for lil J. Recent research demonstrated that arts and crafts in early childhood benefits: 

• Visual processing skills (eg pattern recognition, detection of sequences etc) - important skills for math and reading 
• Fine motor skills 
• Attention span, improves focus and working memory skills 

Sponge painting on big R and little r. 

Color recognition and rabbit coloring activity. 

Shape recognition. 

Learning about directional / positional words. 

Sorting big R and little r. 

Prewriting practice. 

Simple counting or addition maths sheet 

Giraffe color matching pinwheel & mini giraffes set 

Sponge paint and easy wash water color paint. 

I now have 15 new and genuine copies of Runaway Bunny in Chinese (全新正版精装版）available for sale at RM35. It's for sale in the form of "Book & Activities Pack" including the following: 

• 1 x genuine hard-copy of Runaway Bunny in chinese (new) 
• 1 x set of bunny printables soft copy (18 pages) including printables for do-a-dot, race to 10/ 20, color recognition, prewriting practices, size sequences, directional words, counting, number puzzle, add, cut and paste, alphabet upper and lowercase matching and counting clip cards (to be emailed to you)
• 1 x giraffe color matching pinwheel and mini giraffes set (suitable for those aged 18mo - 4 year old)
• 1 x sponge paint + 1 mini pot of toxin-free child-friendly water color (any color)

*Price is not inclusive of postage.

A little about sponge painting: 

Aside from handprinting or finger painting, sponge painting is a wonderful way for young children as young as 12-18 months to explore colors (or even shapes). They do not need to have superior fine motor skills to make beautiful marks on paper. It is a very versatile art activity that cater to any lesson theme and can be enjoyed by children of all ages. I do not own those do-a-dot marker pen, so I have always let J use his sponge paint to paint on those dots.