Bears invaded the library! We learned about bears - all seven types in the world and then we made bear masks of our favorites. There were polar bears, brown bear, black bears, pandas, and spectacled bears.
Everyone brought bears from home and Mrs. V loaned us a few too. We sorted the bears in to piles. Each pile had to have at least two bears in it and there had to be at least two piles. We sorted our bears based on size, color, clothing, realistic/make-believe looking, and even softness. Sorting of any objects is an excellent way for children to learn about classification. Ask probing questions about why your child sorts objects into the categories they chose. Learning to explain why is a key science skill.
Bears have a habitat where they live. It has shelter, food and water in it. We pretended to be bears gathering food, water, and playing in our "den" made from blankets and the tables in the children's section.
Check out some of these other activities you can do at home with bears.
Science words: Habitat, food, water, shelter, hibernate, sort
Bear Numbers: Give your child 10 teddy grahams or gummi bears. Have cards with the numbers 1 -10 on them. Pull out a card and put that number of bears on the card. Put the 10 bears back in their pile. Repeat the process three or four times. If you use gummi bears, you can also set the bears up in piles according to color. Which is the largest pile? Which color had the least?
Sort out other groups of stuffed animals or train engines or other group of toys. There must be at least two members in ea ch pile.
Have a bear meal – fish, nuts, berries and honey!
Bear facts:
Bears are mammals – just like people
Bears are omnivores – they eat meat and plants – just like people
There are eight different species of bears. They are Asiatic, Black, Brown, Polar, Panda, Sloth, Spectacled and Sun.
Bears live everywhere in the world except Antarctica and Australia.
Books:
Blueberries for Sal by Robert McClosky
Jamberry by Bruce Degen
Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen
Corduroy by Don Freeman
Resources on the Web:
www.bearbiology.com – international bear association – LOADS of biology for parents
www.janbrett.com – loads of bear stories and activities with great coloring pages
www.timeforkids.com/TFK/class/pdfs/2006F/061027_bp5.pdf – seasonal bear activity for older preschoolers
Science words: Habitat, food, water, shelter, hibernate, sort
Bear Numbers: Give your child 10 teddy grahams or gummi bears. Have cards with the numbers 1 -10 on them. Pull out a card and put that number of bears on the card. Put the 10 bears back in their pile. Repeat the process three or four times. If you use gummi bears, you can also set the bears up in piles according to color. Which is the largest pile? Which color had the least?
Sort out other groups of stuffed animals or train engines or other group of toys. There must be at least two members in ea ch pile.
Have a bear meal – fish, nuts, berries and honey!
Bear facts:
Bears are mammals – just like people
Bears are omnivores – they eat meat and plants – just like people
There are eight different species of bears. They are Asiatic, Black, Brown, Polar, Panda, Sloth, Spectacled and Sun.
Bears live everywhere in the world except Antarctica and Australia.
Books:
Blueberries for Sal by Robert McClosky
Jamberry by Bruce Degen
Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen
Corduroy by Don Freeman
Resources on the Web:
www.bearbiology.com – international bear association – LOADS of biology for parents
www.janbrett.com – loads of bear stories and activities with great coloring pages
www.timeforkids.com/TFK/class/pdfs/2006F/061027_bp5.pdf – seasonal bear activity for older preschoolers
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My son recently brought home a "den" for his stuffed bears to sleep in. He made it at preschool using a paper bag folded over and stapled, with a circle cut out on one side for the mouth of the cave. A bit of straw was placed inside to keep the bears warm.
ReplyDeleteWhat do real bears use to keep warm? Anything else besides their coat and stored fat?
Hello Julie,
ReplyDeleteThis is a great question. Bears use bear-behavior to keep warm in the winter. They choose a good den that helps keep their body heat trapped in a small space. Often the snow will cover the entrance and snow is an excellent insulator.
I hope that answers your question!