Dramatic Play
I tried to make a bear den and winter scene, so I covered the tent in a white sheet, and had white sheets on the ground for snow. They did ask why there were sheets, and I simply explained it was snow on the bear cave and ground. After that, it was always a cave instead of a tent, so I thought it was a great success!
I had different stuffed bears (which meant 1 with a graduation hat) there, plus a few rabbits, deer, and a moose since they live in the same habitats.
The kids loved the bear cave and we had lots of growling bears in there, that would also come out and chase people. It was a great place to hibernate, and, as always, they loved the stuffed animals.
Art
Nothing really bear related this week, just fun art!
We did spin art for the first time this year. It was a hit and I had pictures drying all over the room! We used coffee filters since they fit perfectly inside the salad spinners, and we used the eye droppers to get the paint on our pictures. That's hard for some kids, but it's a good fine motor challenge and they all got it going after being shown a few times. Here's an older picture of our salad spinner spin art, because I forgot to take one!
We made winter bird feeders to put outside. We spread peanut butter on toilet paper rolls, then rolled them in seeds. We had lots of kids choose to keep theirs at school, so we took them outside after snack. I showed them all the branches they could reach and put them on, but they all chose the same branch :) Some also went home with the kids, so I hope they found a good spot for them!
The last day was sensory play, with water beads. They loved them! This was my first time trying them, but I've been dying to since seeing them on this blog. Here's the direct link to fun water bead activities. I think I was hesitant, because I read story about a kid eating them. I decided these kids were mature enough to not eat them, plus I kept reminding them. I don't think I'd try it with a younger group. I didn't get pictures, but here's some so you can see what they are. I found ours at Dollar Tree near the vases. The kids had a great time playing in them, bouncing, them, squishing and breaking them, and I can't wait to try them again with other things!
Writing
We had animal stencils and stamps. They also got into snowflake making again, so I folded lots of paper while they got lots of cutting practice!
Small Manips
We did puzzles, and had a book about black bears to listen to on a cd.
We played with our counting bears, and I was impressed by the patterns they made with them!
We also sewed with lacing cards.
Snack
We had 3 fun snacks this week!
Day 1 introduced our large group activity, by sampling foods that black bears eat. We had black berries and strawberries and grapes, spinach (to represent them eating plants) with Ranch to make it good, and gummy worms since they dig for grubs and bugs. They didn't all love the blackberries and spinach, but they all at least tasted both of them, so I call that success. The ones who liked the berries, couldn't have enough!
Day 2 we ate Teddy Grahams, then I read to them about Grizzly Bears and how they catch salmon in rivers, and we had a few gummy fish too.
Day 3 we ate porridge, since we were reading Goldilocks and the 3 Bears for large group. Almost all of them liked it, but they at least all tasted it.
Outside
We only had 1 inside day because of bad air. We enjoyed playing in the snow, and even got to sled down our little hill! They are great about taking turns with the 2 sleds. They love being out in the snow!
Large Group
Day 1, we read about black bears. We learned lots of great information, such as: they're scared of people, they climb trees, mamas care for their cubs, cubs like to play, and they eat berries, honey (plus bees), nuts, and bugs. We learned a new song, The Bear Went Over the Mountain, and we reviewed the things black bears eat. They then glued a bear picture on their sacks, and we crawled around like bears to find food. The food were just these papers they collected in their sacks, then colored to take home.
Day 2, we read Alaska's 3 Bears and compared the different habitats and diets of Polar Bears, Grizzly Bears, and Black Bears. We then sang The Bear Went Over the Mountain again, plus learned a song about hibernation, Are You Sleeping Little Bear? We used those songs as we crawled around the room, pretending it was fall and we were fattening up, then crawling into our den (the tent) to hibernate all winter.
Day 3, we read Goldilocks and the 3 Bears. We had time to act it out twice, so all the kids had a turn to be a character. They helped gather and set up the props, and they knew just what each character said! They wanted to play it over and over again, so I promised it would be in dramatic play next week, so they can act it out some more.
Songs:
The Bear Went Over the Mountain song (and bear food pictures) from the Growing Up WILD! curriculum
The bear went over the mountain,
the bear went over the mountatin,
the bear went over the mountain,
to see what it could eat.
And what do you think it ate?
And what do you think it ate?
It ate _______________on the mountain, (foods: plants, berries, bugs, meat, nuts)
It ate _______________on the mountain,
It ate_______________on the mountain,
As much as it could eat!
Are You Sleeping? found here
Are you sleeping, are you sleeping?
Little bear? Little bear?
You will sleep all winter,
through the cold, cold, winter,
Little bear, Little bear.
Are You Sleeping?
Are you sleeping, are you sleeping?
Little bear? Little bear?
You will wake in springtime,
in the warm, warm, springtime,
Little bear, Little bear.
Small Group
Since week 1 was only 1 day, we didn't have small group. Our large group and show and tell took the whole time!
I played a number dice game with the kids to practice counting and number recognition. They had a bear outline with numbers all over it, and they rolled the dice, we all counted the dots, then they had to find and circle the number on their bear.
Our mom volunteers used our bear counters to help the kids sort by color and size.
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