To the tune of "Frere Jacques," Preschool Education suggests singing a song about animals that hibernate in the winter. For example, the words to a raccoon song would be:
"Are you sleeping, are you sleeping,
Mr Racoon? Mr Racoon?
All the snow is falling, All the snow is falling,
Sleep, sleep, snooze. Sleep, sleep snooze."
Repeat for other animals, such as bears, snakes or groundhogs.
There are many books that can be read during circle time or free time that will interest children and educate them about winter animals. Some favorites include "The Three Snow Bears" by Jan Brett, "What Do Animals Do in Winter?" by Melvin Berger, "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See?" and "Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do You Hear?" by Eric Carle, and "Animals in Winter" by Henrietta Bancroft. Jan Brett offers printable masks that go with her story, "That Hat," for children to use after reading the story.
When discussing bears, let children make their own bear using glue and coffee grounds. Everything Preschool directs teachers to let children paint a picture of a bear with white glue, and then children can sprinkle coffee grounds over the picture to create their brown bear. Glue the bears onto blue construction paper and let children use white chalk or crayons to color the ground white or draw some snowflakes in the air.
On a day when children are allowed to bring a stuffed bear into class, use them to let children rank them from smallest to largest, or group them according to color. With a special snack of gummy bears, let children count gummy bears or classify them by color. Children can also use the bears to make simple patterns.
In colder climates, many animals survive the winter through hibernation. Allow students to come to school in their pajamas for a hibernation party. Children can create their own dens using blankets and pillows. Engage children in quiet activities such as reading or puzzles while they hibernate. Little Giraffes suggests using a pretend thermometer to show the children that when the temperature goes up in the spring, the hibernating animals wake up and look for food.