Preschool Bear Theme Ideas

Arts and Crafts

• Add coffee grounds to brown paint to give it texture. Provide each child with a paper bear to paint. Alternatively, have the children use brushes to cover their bears with glue. Give them coffee grounds to sprinkle on their bears. Let them dry. Cut strips of brown construction paper. Wrap the strips around the children's heads and cut them to size. Tape or glue the ends of the strips together to create headbands. Provide the children with a teddy bear face to color. Attach the faces to the headbands.

Songs

• Sing songs about bears with your preschoolers.

  "Little Bear" (sung to the tune of "Are You Sleeping?")

  "Are you sleeping?

  Are you sleeping?

  Little bear, little bear

  You will sleep all winter

  Through the cold, cold winter

  Little bear

  Little bear."

  Sing the song again, replacing the fourth and fifth lines with, "You will wake in springtime, in the warm, warm springtime."

  Add actions to this chant:

  "Teddy bear, teddy bear, turn around

  Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch the ground

  Teddy bear, teddy bear, reach up high

  Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch the sky

  Teddy bear, teddy bear, bend down low

  Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch your toes

  Teddy bear, teddy bear, go upstairs

  Teddy bear, teddy bear, say your prayers

  Teddy bear, teddy bear, turn out the light

  Teddy bear, teddy bear, say goodnight."

Books

• Read your preschoolers a variety of books about bears, including classics such as "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," "Winnie the Pooh" and "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" Choose books from the Corduroy and Berenstain Bears series. Read non-fiction books to teach your preschoolers about different types of bears, including koala, panda, grizzly and polar bears.

Games and Activities

• Ask children to show you their favorite teddy bears. Hide the bears around the room to play hide and seek. Have a teddy bear picnic by spreading a blanket on the floor and having each child sit beside his teddy bear during lunch. Afterward, play a version of "What Time is it, Mr Wolf?" Have one child pretend to be a sleeping bear. Have the rest of the children ask, "Are you sleeping, Mr. Bear?" and take one step closer to him. Have them repeat the question and continue getting closer until the sleeping bear wakes up and growls. The bear chases the children, trying to tag one, who becomes the next sleeping bear.