Read all about our Bear Theme Home Preschool Week! We focused on both teddy bears and real bears of the polar, brown, and black varieties! This was an easy week to plan, since there are so many great picture books and crafts out there to choose from. I hope you'll find something here that inspires you to have your own bear theme week!
If you're a fan of weekly themes for preschool, you'll want to be sure to hop over to see my list of 52 Weekly Preschool Themes, pick a few to look through, and then come back and read all about bears!
If you're a fan of weekly themes for preschool, you'll want to be sure to hop over to see my list of 52 Weekly Preschool Themes, pick a few to look through, and then come back and read all about bears!
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Fuzzy Brown Bear Craft
We've made several bears like this before, and chose to do a brown bear with a nice fuzzy-looking texture for our bear theme week. This is a great not-really-messy-but-kind-of-feels-messy craft. Learn how to make your own fuzzy bear!
Teddy Bear Picnic
The girls loved hearing and learning the classic song, "The Teddy Bear's Picnic." We mostly listened to this version by Bing Crosby on You Tube. We played it over and over at breakfast until they could sing most of it! It's a pretty cute song for your kids to learn.
Counting Bears
The girls played with their counting bears a lot this week. They are really a versatile thing to have around. You can direct learning with them, or just let your kids free play with them. I even compiled this handy list of 10 Ways To Play And Learn With Counting Bears.
Hibernation
If you're talking about bears, you have to talk about hibernation! You can act it out with a fort, read about it in some books, or have your stuffed teddies hibernate for a while.
Television- Bear Documentary
We love nature documentaries! The kids always complain when I start one ("I want a KIDS show!") but then are transfixed as soon as it begins. We watched this documentary called Bears via Amazon Prime Instant Video. There were one or two parts with a few moments of tension (and one moment of mating) but overall very kid friendly.
Books About Bears
So many bear books! As I looked through our shelves pulling out books for bear week, they just kept coming and coming! I'd never really thought about how many bear are featured in popular children's series. We also grabbed a couple from the library to supplement. Read all about our choices in Books About Bears.
Chapter Books
They're included in the picture book roundup above, but a couple of chapter books are worth mentioning on their own. Winnie-the-Pooh and A Bear Called Paddington are both delightful chapter books for young children. I wouldn't recommend them for very young preschoolers, but if you have older preschoolers who are good listeners and accustomed to chapter books they're lovely choices.
Teddy Bear Snack
Nothing fancy here-- just give your kiddos some Teddygrams and they'll be happy as clams.
Where's the Bear? Literacy Game
This game from Sprinkles to Kindergarten could be adapted for anything that your preschooler is working on-- shapes, colors, letters, numbers, or sight words. All you need are some small paper cups and some counting bears! Super cute!
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, Turn Around
This classic rhyme is a great way to get your kids moving. The words are:
Teddy bear, teddy bear, turn around.
Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch the ground.
Teddy bear, teddy bear, reach up high.
Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch the sky.
Teddy bear, teddy bear, bend down low.
Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch your toes.
Teddy bear, teddy bear, go to bed.
Teddy bear, teddy bear, rest your head.
Teddy bear, teddy bear, turn out the lights.
Teddy bear, teddy bear, say, "Goodnight"!
Ask your kids act out the movements as you recite the poem.
Printables
These printables to go along with the book Bear Snores On are fantastic, and would keep your kids happy and learning for a long time! I love all of the printables from 3Dinosaurs!
To see more fun bear ideas, be sure to follow What Can We Do With Paper And Glue on Pinterest, or just check out the bear themed board below.
You May Also Be Interested In:
From Other Great Bloggers:
Bears Need Exercise Too from Teach PreschoolGrowing Gummy Bear Science from Tinkerlab
Measuring With Bear Counters from Mom Inspired Life
Books About Polar Bears from Crafty Kids At Home