PEEPS HOUSES

One of my favorite Easter time activities is our annual making of Peeps Houses.

Oh, how the kids love this!

I start out by having a storytime, based on Easter books full of bunnies and chicks.

Then, we sing and act out some bunny songs.

Some of my favorites are:
Little Bunny Foo Foo and Peter Cottontail

Next, we wrap up our storytime with the bunny hop and after a few parades around the house.
After that, we “hop” to the table, which I have prepared with our Peeps house building supplies.

To read about some of my other favorite fingerplays, check out this blog post:
https://learningisawayoflife.com/favorite-fingerplays/

Then, while playing some Easter music in the background, the fun begins.
First, we talk about houses for bunnies and chicks.
Then, each child chooses either a bunny or a chick Peeps of their color choice.
After that, I give them a plate and graham crackers and we start passing around the frosting and the constructing begins.
While the Peeps houses are “setting”, we dye some shredded coconut green.
The kids then make a nest out of the coconut somewhere in their house or on their plate and set their chick or bunny inside.
Finally, the children start adding miscellaneous candies to their creations.

As the houses settle, we eat lunch.

After lunch, the children have a “show and tell” with their Peeps houses and the children are encouraged to name their Peeps and tell us a story about their Peep’s home.

I cannot believe how much of a tradition this has become. Each year the children look forward to it and even my teens enjoy joining in the fun.

Such a simple activity that can bring so much joy.

Educational Aspects

So how can this be considered educational you may ask?

To start with, the children must first design the house in their head and then figure out how to construct it to look like the image in their head.

Simple math skills such as counting and angles and building are a huge part of this activity. As the children get older, you can include perimeter and area too.

Storytelling is also a great way for children to express themselves.
I’ve had some of my older kids write whole stories about their Peeps and their house.

Science can be included the more in-depth you choose to go into bunnies and chicks.

Social Studies is included as you talk about houses.

If you have older children, there are so many ways to have them dig deeper into math, science, and language arts skills here. This is truly a great activity for all ages(I must admit, even I enjoy participating in this activity)!