Thursday, January 12, 2012

Bear Snores On


Our activities this week were inspired by Karma Wilson's Bear Snores On.


Gathering: Teddy Bear Story Time





Each of the children brought a teddy bear from home to join in the fun!  We read bear themed stories with our teddy bears and Mommies together in the living room while we waited for all of our friends to arrive.


Circle Time




We read Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson.  This sweet book tells the story of a hibernating bear whose cave is visited by several animals seeking shelter from a snow storm.  As each animal arrives, he brings a snack to share and soon the animals are having a party inside the cave while the bear continues to sleep.  In the end he wakes up and is very sad that they had a party without him.  The animals invite bear to join in the fun and the party continues until all of the animals fall asleep, except for the bear. 

We did these fun bear themed finger plays after our story.

Hibernation Song - sung to "Are You Sleeping"



Bear is sleeping, bear is sleeping
In the cave, in the cave.
I wonder when he'll come out, I wonder when he'll come out
In the spring, In the spring.

(song found here http://stepbystepcc.com/hibernation.html)

Bear Finger Play


Here is a cave.
(Bend fingers on one hand)
Inside is a bear.
(Put thumb inside fingers.)
Now he comes out
To get some fresh air.
(Pop out thumb.)

He stays out all summer
In sunshine and heat.
He hunts in the forest
For berries to eat.
(Move thumb in a circle.)

When snow sarts to fall.
He hurries inside
His warm little cave
And there he will hide.
(Put thumb inside fingers.)

Snow covers the cave
Like a fluffy white rug.
Inside the bear sleeps
All cozy and snug.
(Place one hand over the other.)
Author Unknown


Art: Bear Cave Craft


Materials Needed: Glue, blue paper, black tree cut out, yellow moon cut out, brown half circle, googly eyes, and cotton balls


The children glued the pieces to the blue paper to create a bear peeking out of a snowy cave.

 
Our project was inspired by this idea found here at Kiboomu

Snack: Popcorn and Honey Nuts





The book features an impromptu potluck which included  popcorn and honey nuts, so of course we had to eat those for snack!


Activities: Parachute Games and Pretend

Teddy Bear Hibernation Parachute Game:  

We placed every one’s bears inside the parachute. (a few other animals found their way into the parachute as well). We play Parachute games with them inside.  The children had fun tossing them into the air. 




Then we let the children “hibernate” with them under a cave that the mommies made with the parachute.  



Don’t Wake Up Bears:  Our children pretended to be asleep.  Then we would say "Wake Up Bears!"   The little ones stood up with their bears and did their best GROWLS!!!  







14 comments:

  1. What an incredible resource your site is! We love The Bear series of books. What a clever and fun idea to bounce the bears on the parachute!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, Rebekah! We love the Bear books, too!

    ReplyDelete
  3. So darling!!! I haven't read any of these books yet and will definitely need to. Sharing on Facebook right now!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love your bear cave craft! And love the song and fingerplay you guys did! I need to learn more of those to do with my little guy.

    ReplyDelete
  5. So many great ideas - thanks for sharing them.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I found you through pinterest. This is a great resource for preschool activities. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I found you on pinterest too. This is a wonderful blog! Love it. I hope you will visit my blog: Kindergarten for Teachers and Parents. Have a wonderful day.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love this book! I work at a daycare in the two year told room and the kids adore it!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Was wondering what you do with siblings? Each mommy seems to be matched with one child. I homeschool and have two children, but would love to do this, Thanks so much! I love all your ideas!!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Lindsey! Great question! I have had a Mommy and Me group at our home the past 6 years. Each year is a little different, as far as siblings go. Some of the older siblings are at preschool or school. In theory, Mommy and Me is a time that the mom can spend 90 minutes a week focused on just that child. However, some years, Moms bring 2 children and they both participate, if their ages are close. Every year, we have at least one or two moms with a baby they wear in a sling the entire time. This year, one of the moms in our group and myself both have 4 year olds we home school. We set up centers for them in my son's room and give them a special snack. They do a beautiful job (most days), rotating through the 4 centers and then playing together. After Mommy and Me, the mom with the four year old stays for lunch and we do a parent directed learning activity with the two older kids.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love all these! such great ideas! Thanks for sharing!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Bear series rocks! and your unit here is adorable. Makes me want to do it all over again with my now 7-year-old. (nastalgic sigh)

    ReplyDelete
  13. All great ideas! Thanks a lot for sharing. We'll be doing his at our playgroup.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comments! I love hearing from the readers of my blog. It makes my day! I have recently had a lot of inappropriate spam that has snuck through, so I am turning on the moderation of comments for a short time, to see if it helps. I am so sorry for any inconvience this may cause, but I want to remain a family friendly blog. -Danielle @Mommy and Me Book Club