Bunny Circle

"Hi Bunny. My name is Jenny. And my favorite part of today is... when Buby asked me to do Bunny Circle with him."


You're looking at Buby's friend "Bunny." Honestly, I can't remember if he was a gift for Buby or for Bleu, but boy does our little man love this mini stuffed rabbit. "Bunny" splits his time between Buby's bedroom and the playroom, where he is included in all sorts of creative endeavors.


In Buby's classroom at school there is a large wicker basket full of cuddly bunnies, not unlike this one. When I first noticed it about a month ago I said something like, "Cute... do you guys play with the bunnies?" Buby sort of politely brushed me off, as if those bunnies were none of my business. Like they were a Need To Know preschooler thing, and I did not Need To Know. It was so unlike him. I figured maybe something happened in class, or maybe I just wasn't the right amount of cool that day. Either way, I let it be.


Out of the blue a few days later he volunteered that the "cute bunnies" are part of his closing circle ritual. Basically, one student gets up and chooses a bunny from the basket and then rejoins his friends on the rug. The children sit quietly {with legs folded pretzel style} and listen to their friends recount their favorite part of the day. Apparently, they can choose just ONE thing to talk about. ONE best part of the day, and then they pass the bunny onto the next child.


Last week before shutting down the playroom for the night, Buby asked me if I wanted to do Bunny Circle with him. YES! YES! YES! Bleu and I plopped down, eagerly crossed our legs, and listened as Buby went over the rules. "Now repeat after me, Mama.... " He went on to describe his lunch in great detail and passed the bunny to me. We all had a giggle, and then Buby bowed his head all bummed. I said, "What's wrong, Bub?" He said, "I always have more than one favorite part of the day, and I want to say more things. But... I can't." To which I replied, "Yes you can! Say everything you want to say." He said, "No, I can't. Adrienne {the teacher} said just ONE thing per kid." He's wonderfully sensitive like that. And like me, it appears he has trouble narrowing down his favorites.


So I offered, "Okay, at school you say just one thing. Here at home, you can say as many things as you want." He seemed perplexed by the lack of boundaries. "Or... at school you say just one thing. Here at home, you say THREE things. How about that?" "Yippeee! I like that idea, Mama. Thank you." And just like that, bunny crisis averted.



P.S. Parent-teacher conferences are Thursday. How fun!