Dust Bunnies to Dust Bunnies

Book Summary: In Jan Thomas's fun book, Rhyming Dust Bunnies, the dust bunnies play a rhyming word game while one of them always shouts out a word that does not rhyme, like "look out!" He's trying to warn of a dangerous vacuum cleaner he sees but the others don't until it's too late for all of them and they wind up stuck in the the vacuum.

Preschool themes: rhyming words, household chores, domestic jobs.

Christian themes: God's Word. Jesus watches out for us. God formed us.

Opener: Discuss "dust bunnies." Explain what they are and ask the children if they've ever found one!

Open a bag of craft pom poms, (those colorful little puffs of cotton you can buy in the craft section of your local discount store,) and hand one to each child. Hold up one of your own. Ask the children what color it is. Then, brainstorm with the children several rhyming words that match your "dust bunny's" color. For example, if your fuzzy pom is blue, say the words, shoe, boo, two, zoo, and moo. Explain that today's story is all about a group of colorful dust bunnies playing a rhyming game. Ask the kids to keep on their listening ears and listen for all the rhyming words they can hear.

Story: Read Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas, then read the Bible verse that follows in this outline.

Bible Verse Bracelets:
(Print out, on a brightly-colored sheet of paper, today's verse repeated down the page. Cut between each verse so that you have 10-15 strips, each with the verse printed on it. Ask the children to form a line, and using tape to stick the ends together, wrap a "Bible Verse Bracelet" round each little wrist. Some children do not want to wear it; in that case, hand it to them and tell them to use the verse as a bookmark. The children love these, and come to expect them at each session! The verses also find their way home to parents and siblings, and help to spread the news about that day's storytime.)

Psalm 103:14 (NCV) "He knows how we were made; he remembers that we are dust."

Explain to the children how God formed us. He made us from the earth so that we could be with Him. He knows we are fragile, and keeps watch over us. He loves us very much!

Bible Story: Read from My Read and Rhyme Bible Storybook, by Crystal Bowman, Cindy Kenney, and Christiane Engel, this passage from the Creation Story: "And then God said, 'I like what I see! But I want some people to spend time with Me.' So God took some dust right from the land. He held it closely and breathed in His hand. Then God made a man and a woman, too. And then His work was finally through. God looked around at the end of the day. The world was good in every way."

Song: "Made By God For God Alone," by Colin Buchanan from his "Follow the Saviour" CD.

Game: Blow the Dust Bunnies race! Give a straw and a craft pom pom to each child. Let each race consist of two children. Have the children compete by blowing their "dust bunny" with their straw in a dust bunny race, either across a hard floor surface or down a long table, with one child on each side.

Art: Make your very own pet dust bunnies! Stick googly eyes onto large colored craft poms with strong double sided tape or poster mounting squares cut into small pieces. Cut short lengths of colorful pipe cleaners for legs. Stick these on with your adhesive tape. Enjoy your pet dust bunnies!