Bears

Poni discovers and presents-Bears

(Open Poni discovers and presents-Bears) Print, laminate, and cut the cards. Use your Poni puppet or another puppet that children are familiar with to present the pictures to your group.

Circle time questions:

• Can you name different types of bears?
• Do you know any stories about bears?
• Do bears have feathers or fur? Can you name other animals that have fur?
• Where do bears live?
• Have you ever seen a bear?
• Do you have a favorite teddy bear? What is its name?
• Can you name a bear’s body parts?

Bear den

(Open giant bear) Print and assemble. You will need a large cardboard box (appliance). Set it in a corner of your daycare before children arrive and glue the bear close to the entrance. Let children talk about this new addition to your décor and share their hypotheses about why it is in your daycare. After a while, explain how the box represents a bear den, the place where a bear hibernates during winter. Invite children to help you complete the setup of your bear den by gluing dried leaves, branches, etc. all over it. Ask them how they could make the inside of the den comfortable for hibernation. The den can be used as a special hideout throughout the theme. Let children spend time in it with their favorite stuffed animal. They can even take turns napping inside the den.

AREA SETUP

Thematic poster-Bears

(Open thematic poster-Bears) Print and display to announce your theme for children and parents. 

Educa-decorate-Bears

(Open educa-decorate-Bears) Print, cut out, and laminate. Use the items to decorate the walls of your daycare and set the mood for the theme.

Educa-numbers-Bears

(Open educa-numbers-Bears) Print and laminate the posters. Display them on a wall to decorate your daycare throughout the theme.

Educa-letters-Bears

(Open educa-letters-Bears) Print and laminate the posters. Display them on a wall to decorate your daycare throughout the theme.

Garland-Bears

(Open garland-Bears) Print and let children decorate the items. Cut them out and use them to form a garland that can be hung in your daycare or next to your daycare entrance.

PICTURE GAME

(Open picture game-Bears) Use the pictures to decorate your daycare or to spark a conversation with your group. Print, laminate, and store the pictures in a Ziploc bag or in your thematic bin.

ACTIVITY SHEETS

(Open activity sheets-Bears) Print and follow instructions.

WRITING ACTIVITIES

(Open writing activities-B like bear) Print for each child or laminate for use with a dry-erase marker.

Stationery-Bears

(Open stationery-Bears) Use this thematic stationery to communicate with parents, in your writing area, or to identify your thematic bins. Print.

Educa-nuudles-Bears

(Open educa-nuudles-Bears) Print for each child. Have children color the sheet. Once they are done, they may use Magic Nuudles to turn the coloring pages into three-dimensional works of art. Variation: If you do not have Magic Nuudles, ask children to fill the spaces designed for Magic Nuudles with bingo markers or stickers.

To order Magic Nuudles

LANGUAGE ACTIVITIES

Word flashcards

Use the flashcards to spark a conversation with your group, in your reading and writing corner, or to identify your thematic bins. (Open word flashcards-Bears) (Open giant word flashcards-Bears) Print. bear cub, black bear, grizzly bear, polar bear, teddy bear, bear hide, picnic, bear den, claws, tracks, honey, panda

Forest scene

(Open Forest scene) Print, laminate, and cut out the pieces. Children use them to complete the scene.

Sequential story-Polar bears

(Open sequential story-Polar bears) Print and laminate the story. Cut out the illustrations and encourage children to place them in the correct order to recreate the story.

ROUTINES AND TRANSITIONS

Game-This is my spot-Bears

(Open game-This is my spot-Bears) Print two copies of each illustration. Use adhesive paper to stick one copy of each illustration on the table. Place the second copy in a bag. Children take turns picking an illustration to determine where they must sit at the table. You may also use the illustrations to determine children’s naptime spots or their place in the task train.

My bear paw path

(Open my bear paw path) Print, laminate, and secure the illustrations on the floor of your daycare to create a path leading to the areas frequently visited by children throughout the day. The path can lead to the bathroom, the cloakroom, etc. If you prefer, use the illustrations to delimit various areas.

Forest animals

(Open forest animal tracks) Print and cut out several animal tracks and glue them on the floor, using identical animal tracks to create paths. At the end of each path, glue a picture of the corresponding animal.

ACTIVITIES FOR BABIES

Bears everywhere

Ask parents to send their child’s favorite teddy bear to daycare. Arrange all the bears in a pile on the floor and let children caress, hold, and transport them. Let children sleep with their teddy bear at naptime.

Soft fur

Collect a variety of fabrics that offer different textures (including pieces of fake fur) and encourage young children to manipulate them for a sensory experience.

I can walk like a bear

Invite children to walk around your daycare like a bear (marching heavily).

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND MOTOR SKILLS

Bear walk

With Your group, have fun walking like a mama bear, a papa bear, and a bear cub.

Tell me the ending

(Open story-Goldilocks and the Three Bears) Print, laminate, and cut out the elements. Read the beginning of the story to your group and encourage children to use the elements to illustrate it. Let them invent a different ending.

Dress-up dolls-Tales

(Open dress-up dolls-Tales) Print, laminate, and cut out. Set the items on the table and let children have fun dressing the paper dolls as they wish.

Small, medium, and big musical jars

Fill a series of jars with different levels of water. Children tap the jars with a spoon to produce different musical notes. Explain how the sounds vary per the quantity of water each jar contains. Add or remove water, provide additional jars… Invite children to sing songs as they make music.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears mobile

(Open mobile-Goldilocks and the Three Bears) Print for each child and have them cut out the characters. They can color them and glue soft material on the bears to represent fur and yellow yarn pieces to represent Goldilocks’ hair. Hang the characters from a clothing hanger using fishing wire.

One, two, three bears

Pick a child who will pretend to be a bear. He chases the other children, attempting to tag them one by one. Every time the bear touches one of his peers, the child who was touched becomes the bear. Variation: If you prefer, have children who are touched by the bear stop and stand with their arms out. If one of their peers runs under their arms, they can resume running. Several children may be immobile at the same time. Be sure to give each child a chance to be the bear.

I can tie my shoes

Using old shoes with laces, encourage older children to practice tying shoelaces. We have prepared a special poster that may be helpful. (Open poster-I can tie my shoes) Print, laminate, and display the poster within your daycare.

Goldilocks’ home

In your role play area, recreate the popular story using three sizes of chairs, bears, and accessories. Call upon children’s imagination and encourage them to act out the story.

Lacing-Bears

(Open lacing-Bears) Print, laminate, and punch holes around the contour of each model. Children can thread ribbon, string, or yarn through the holes.

Lacing-Forest animals

(Open lacing-Forest animals) Print, laminate, and punch holes around the contour of each model. Children can thread ribbon, string, or yarn through the holes.

Miniature multicolored bears

(Open sorting sheet-Colors) Print and laminate. Provide multicolored gummy bears and invite children to grasp them one at a time between their thumb and index finger to associate them with the circle of the corresponding color. This is a great fine motor skills exercise. Once children have successfully sorted the bears, they can eat them. Variation: If you prefer, use small plastic bears instead of candy.

Oh no! A bear!

Have children stand, leaving a certain distance between them and their peers. Hide behind a counter (or in the bathroom) and come out growling like a bear. Children pretend to be scared. Have them take one step towards you then run in place as if they were running away from a bear. Invite them to take another step towards you and then crouch down to protect themselves from the bear. Children will want to repeat this activity!

Black bear

Children sit in a circle. Have one child walk around the outside of the circle touching his peers on the head, naming a color and saying “bear” with every tap (blue bear, red bear, white bear…). When he says “black bear”, the child he touches must jump up and run around the circle behind him, attempting to touch the bear before he makes it back to his spot.

OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

Bear hunt

Hide plastic bears, teddy bears, or pictures of bears throughout your yard. Invite children to go on a bear hunt to capture all the bears. You can set up a cage (real or imaginary) and have children set the captured bears in it.

Mr. Bear, are you sleeping?

You or a child from your group pretends to be a bear. The bear lies down at one end of the daycare, closes his eyes, and pretends to sleep. The other children tiptoe towards the bear and whisper, “Mr. Bear, are you sleeping?” The bear continues to pretend to be asleep. Children move closer and closer. Once they are close to the bear, they repeat the question much louder. The bear growls as he wakes up and starts chasing the children who must run away to avoid being captured.

Honey hunt

Divide your group into two teams. One team will be bees whereas the other team will be bears. Both teams stand on a line, facing each other. Set 3 or 4 yellow scarves on the floor between both groups. The scarves represent honey. Since bears love honey, they must try to collect the scarves and bring them back to their side without getting stung (touched) by a bee. If a bee touches a bear, the bear is eliminated. However, if a bee runs behind a bear but doesn’t touch him before he reaches his line, the bee is eliminated. The game continues until there are no more bears or bees, or until all the scarves are on the bears’ side.

Beware of the bears

Pick a child who will pretend to be a bear. He chases the other children, attempting to tag them one by one. Every time the bear touches one of his peers, the child who was touched becomes the bear. Variation: If you prefer, have children who are touched by the bear stop and stand with their arms out. If one of their peers runs under their arms, they can resume running. Several children may be immobile at the same time. Be sure to give each child a chance to be the bear.

RELAXATION ACTIVITIES

My oh-so-soft bear

Before naptime, divide your group into pairs and encourage them to massage their teddy bears, set them on their naptime mattresses, tuck them in, etc. Children can also use their teddy bear to gently massage their partner’s back, arms, and legs.

MUSICAL AND RHYTHMIC ACTIVITIES

Rhythmic picture clue story-Bears

(Open picture clue story-Bears) Print. Have children form a circle close to you. Read the picture clue story once, explaining the action or sound associated with each picture clue. Read the story again. Every time you reach a picture clue, pause, point to it, and wait for children to perform the correct action or make the sound associated with it.

COGNITIVE ACTIVITIES

Educ-pairs-Bears

(Open educ-pairs-Bears) Print. Children must draw a line between identical items or color them using the same color. For durable, eco-friendly use, laminate and use dry-erase markers.

Color by number-Bears

(Open color by number-Bears) Print for each child. Have children color the picture per the color code.

Educ-trace-Bears

(Open educ-trace-Bears) Print for each child. Children must trace each line using a crayon of the corresponding color and then color the object at the end of the line using the same color.

Educ-same and different-Bears

(Open educ-same and different-Bears) Print and laminate for durable, eco-friendly use. Children must circle the item that is different in each row.

MORAL AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

Bear masquerade

(Open bear masquerade) Print, laminate, and cut out the masks. Children will enjoy wearing them to pretend they are bears. This simple role play activity is sure to please!

Veterinary hospital for bears only

Pull out your doctor kits and gather as many stuffed bears as possible. Children will love caring for the bears. You may add bandages, baby bottles, diapers, etc.

Goldilocks and the Three bears

Set 3 different sizes of chairs, bowls, plates, beds, etc. in your role play area. If you can, find 3 different stuffed bears (small, medium, and big) and let children use them to act out the story.

EARLY SCIENCE/MANIPULATION/EXPLORATION

Polar bears and icebergs

Gather all the bear figurines you can find (polar bears and other types of bears). Add each one to a medium-sized Ziploc bag and pour water inside the bags, filling them approximately halfway. Set the bags in the freezer. Once the water is frozen, set the figurines in a bin filled with cold water. Let children manipulate them and observe the changes.

Why are polar bears never cold?

Fill a bowl with ice-cold water (add ice cubes to cold water). Children take turns plunging their hands in the water. Time them to see how long they can keep their hands in the cold water. Next, have children repeat the exercise wearing rubber gloves they have previously dipped in shortening (Crisco). They will be able to endure the cold much longer. Use this activity to explain how a layer of fat under polar bears’ fur helps protect them from the cold.

Forest-themed sensory bin

Fill a bin with dried leaves, pinecones, and pine tree branches. Let children play in this bin with forest animal figurines.

CULINARY ACTIVITIES

Bear paw snack

Purchase bear paw molasses cookies and serve them at snack time with milk.

Honey taste test

Bears love honey, it’s a well-known fact! Provide children with the opportunity to taste various types of honey (liquid, creamy, candy, etc.).

Warm oatmeal

Prepare oatmeal with your group and invite them to eat it, just like in the Goldilocks and the Three Bears story.

Bear face

Give each child an unflavoured rice cake. Children can spread peanut butter on it to represent a brown bear, Nutella to represent a black bear, or cream cheese if they wish to create a polar bear. Press 2 pretzels on either side to represent ears and use Smarties to add eyes. Finally, a piece of licorice can be used for a mouth. *Beware of allergies.

Bears love honey

Plan a special picnic with your group. Serve “Honeycomb” cereal. If you wish, add the cereal to snack-size Ziploc bags and hide them throughout your daycare. Children will enjoy eating the cereal once they have found the bags.

ARTS & CRAFTS

Puppets-Bears

(Open puppets-Bears) Print the models on heavy cardboard. Have children cut them out and decorate them with a variety of materials. Glue a Popsicle stick behind each model to create puppets.

Stencils-Bears

(Open stencils-Bears) Print and cut out the various shapes. Children can use them to trace or paint elements related to the theme.

Circle bear

(Open circle bear) Print for each child. Have children cut out the circles and glue them on a piece of construction paper to represent a bear. The smaller circles can be used for ears and paws. The medium-sized circle can represent the head while the larger one can be used for the bear’s tummy. Children can color their bear when they are done assembling it. Variation for younger children: Pre-cut the circles and provide a model they can follow or, if you prefer, simply let them glue the circles on a piece of construction paper in no particular fashion.

My miniature bear

(Open my miniature bear) Print, color, and cut out the bear parts. Glue them on an empty toilet paper roll to represent a bear. You may also use a Styrofoam drinking glass or paper cup if you wish to make larger bears.

My moving panda

(Open my moving panda) Print for each child. Have them cut out the parts and decorate them using markers and other materials. Use fasteners to assemble each child’s panda so the arms and legs can be moved.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

(Open story-Goldilocks and the Three Bears) Print for each child. Have them color and cut out the characters and encourage them to glue them on a piece of construction paper to recreate the story.

Polar bears

(Open craft-polar bears) Print for each child. Have them fill the outline with cotton balls.

Imaginary polar bears

Invite children to draw a polar bear on white paper using a white marker or crayon. The use of a white crayon on a white surface will foster children’s imagination.

Bear clock

(Open clock craft) Print and cut out the various parts. Children glue the numbers around the contour of a paper plate, making sure “12” is at the top and “6” is at the bottom. Cut out the hands and use a fastener to insert them in the center of the plate which will become the bear’s tummy. Have children glue the head, arms, legs, and ears in place.

Polar bear face

Give each child a paper plate (polar bear face) and 2 paper muffin cups (ears). Children glue cotton balls all over their plate. Next, they press the paper muffin cups at the top of their polar bear’s face and add wiggly eyes.

COMPLETE THE DRAWING

(Open complete the drawing-Bears) Print for each child. Have children draw the missing parts.

COLORING PAGES THEME

(Open coloring pages theme-Bears) Print for each child.

Have fun!

The educatall team