Bears

Bears

Activities for toddlers and babies

At a very early age, babies and toddlers come into contact with bears in the form of teddy bears. For this reason, they are sure to enjoy a bear theme.

AREA SETUP

Bears in your daycare
Hang a few bear posters within your daycare. Hang balloons from the ceiling and use adhesive tape to secure bear stickers on them. Position yourself at children's eye level to make sure they can see the bears. This activity is ideal for babies and toddlers who are always looking upwards.

Teddy bear bin
Fill a large container with teddy bears and set it on the floor within your daycare. Throughout the week, add a variety of accessories (plastic dishes, doctor's kit, facecloths, empty shampoo bottles, etc.). Babies and toddlers will enjoy pretending to feed, bathe, and care for the teddy bears.

ROUTINES AND TRANSITIONS

Bear-filled dishes
Use adhesive paper to stick a picture of a bear in each child's plate as well as on their drinking glass, sippy cup or baby bottle. Children will be surprised to discover them at lunch or snack time.

SENSORY ACTIVITIES (touch)

Textured bears
Print several bear illustrations and pictures. Laminate them and display them on a wall next to your changing table. Using hot glue, stick items with different textures on each bear's tummy (felt, fake fur, fleece, burlap, etc.). Let babies and toddlers touch the bears during diaper changes. Of course, constant supervision is required throughout this activity. Be sure to use fairly large pieces of fabric in case they are pulled off by little hands. In the educatall club, you will find two printable documents that are perfect for this activity: Educa-letters-Bears and Educa-numbers-Bears.

SENSORY ACTIVITIES (taste)

Bear cookies
Purchase or bake bear-shaped cookies (or paw-shaped cookies). Serve them as a special snack.

ARTS & CRAFTS

A bed for my bear
You will need:

• Empty facial tissue (Kleenex) boxes.
• Small facecloths and pieces of felt.
• Teddy bears, small enough to fit inside the facial tissue boxes.

Let babies and toddlers decorate the boxes by drawing on them, painting them, or simply by sticking stickers and decorations on them depending on their age. The boxes will represent tiny beds for the teddy bears. Show children how they can place a teddy bear inside each box and tuck them in with the facecloths or pieces of felt. Let children explore this new role play activity.

MORAL AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

A special guest
You will need a large teddy bear. Invite the bear to participate in group activities throughout the week. Reserve a spot for him at the table, complete with his own plate and chair. Of course, your special guest will be very hungry and eat everything you serve! The next day, your special guest can join you for story time. Simply set the teddy bear in your reading corner. Children will love to sit with him when you read them a story. At the end of the week, children will love to dance with their guest to the sound of fast-paced music.

Bear puppets
Cut bear-shaped puppets out of felt. Tickle babies and toddlers with the puppets. Make smaller puppets for the children in your group and help them slide them over their hands. You can also try sliding them on their feet; they will find this very funny. In the educatall club, you will find bear-shaped stencils that can be used as models for your puppets.

A bear in my house
This activity is perfect for creating a link between each child's home and daycare environment. Invite children to bring a teddy bear from home to daycare and let them carry it around throughout the day.

COGNITIVE ACTIVITIES

Hiding under the blankets
Develop object permanence by playing with teddy bears and blankets:

• Build forts and add teddy bears to your constructions.
• Play hide and seek with teddy bears simply by hiding them under blankets.
• Deposit teddy bears on the floor throughout your daycare and cover them with tiny blankets. Let babies and toddlers crawl around and encourage them to peek under the blankets to find the teddy bears.

Counting bears
At snack time, serve tiny bear-shaped cookies or crackers and have fun counting them in front of little ones to introduce them to numbers.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES AND MOTOR SKILLS

Visiting your neighbourhood with teddy bears
Give each child a teddy bear and invite them to take their new friend outside. You can hang them from your stroller using ribbon (not too long to avoid choking hazards). Children will be able to manipulate them without dropping them over and over again. With older children, you can provide tiny backpacks they can use as carriers (worn in front). Sit the teddy bears inside the backpacks so they are peeking out. Take them for a stroll around the neighbourhood. Encourage children to use words to describe what they see for their teddy bear. If the weather is nice, visit the playground with your group. Children will enjoy pushing their teddy bear on the swings or down the slide.

LANGUAGE ACTIVITIES

Goldilocks and the three bears
This is the perfect story to introduce numbers and sizes. Read it to your group and, if possible, use illustrations and/or models to make these concepts tangible for little ones.

Chantal Millette
Early childhood educator

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