Have preschoolers bring a teddy bear from home, line them all up and ask "which one is tallest?" "which one is shortest?" and use a scale to determine "which one is the heaviest?" Ask the preschoolers to count the teddy bears aloud. Remove a few bears and then recount the bears for a new total. Provide teddy bear worksheets for preschoolers to color. Have them trace a number on the teddy bear's belly or decorate their teddy bear with items that can be counted. For example, provide wiggly self-adhesive eyeballs and have the preschoolers count, "one, two -- two eyes."
Have preschoolers sort teddy bears by colors of their fur, their eyes, or any other differentiating color characteristic. The children could make party hats in different colors for the teddy bears and then sort the bears by their hat colors. Cut out little teddy bears from multi-colored construction paper and ask the preschoolers to sort them by color and put each in a cup that is the same color as the bear.
Many classic children's songs can be made into a teddy bear song, by replacing the object in the song or rhyme with the phrase "teddy bear." Use songs that preschoolers already know, such as, "You are My Sunshine," "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" and "Pop Goes the Weasel." You can change the songs to, "You are My Teddy Bear," "Five Little Teddy Bears Jumping on the Bed" and "Pop Goes the Teddy Bear." Let students dance or move freely to the songs with their teddy bears or show them how to act out some of the lyrics.
Have a teddy bear with different outfits that are suitable for different weather. Ask preschoolers to suggest a type of weather and dress the teddy bear accordingly; if the weather is "raining," dress the teddy bear in a rain jacket. Paper-doll bears could replace real teddy bears; they often come with a large wardrobe and could be laminated for durability. Create a bear cave in the classroom and place the class bear in it to hibernate over the school's winter break. Learn about hibernation and read Christmas books about bears and their dens, like "Bear Stays up for Christmas" by Karma Wilson.