Theme: Bears
January Themes: My boys (ages 2, 4) go to preschool twice a week, so I planned our activities for the off days - Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I printed a monthly chart (link to come) as a way to keep organized and stay on track. However, some weeks we just do activities as we go. Here's the first week at a glance:
MONDAY:
Art (B is for Bear): This is a simple gluing craft making a B into a Bear! I found this on Pinterest, and am not sure of the source. So darling!
Sorting (Bear Counter Colors): My boys love these counting bears and cups! There are so many ways to learn with these bears - from sorting, counting, sensory play, learning colors and patterns. You can view more ways we've played with them here. Today we played and sorted the bears by color into their corresponding "homes" (cups).
Numbers (Bear Counting Cards): These Bear Counting Cards (from Creating and Teaching - create a free account to print!) are my favorite way to review numbers with bear counters! I like that they review the visual number as well as one to one correspondence. Also, a great color review.
Sensory (Floury Bear Play): Another sensory bin for the win! This was so much fun. My boys loved pouring and sifting the flour and bears. The flour would sift through leaving the bears in the sifter. Lots of pretend play and learning today. My boys played for over and hour and naturally the flour got all over the floor. My husband walked by and saw the mess and gave me a kind look of disgust. I said, "Watch. I'm going to time how long this takes me to sweep up." It took me 2 minutes and 30 seconds. I figure if my boys are going to play for over and hour and make an enjoyable mess, it's WELL worth the couple minutes of clean up afterward. At the end of the week, we washed the bears in the tub.
WEDNESDAY:
Art (Puffy Paint Bears): I recently bought 150+ Screen-Free Activities for Kids by Asia Citro and found this AMAZING and EASY paint recipe! My boys couldn't get enough of this paint! The first time we played, they sat at the table for over and hour and squeezed paint on paper after paper. The best part about this paint is that you pop the paper in the microwave and the paint puffs up and dries! My boys had just as much fun peeling the dried paint off the paper. Click here for the recipe!
Science (Bear Blubber): I've seen this idea on Pinterest and have been wanting to try it for the longest time! It's simple. Get two bowls and fill them with water and chunks of ice. The water should be very cold. Talk about ways we stay warm in the winter. Then, ask how your children think Polar Bears stay warm in the winter with the snow and icy water. Talk about how Polar Bears have a special layer of fat (blubber) that helps keep them warm in the winter time. Then, demonstrate. Place blubber (Crisco) on one finger, completely covering it. Place blubber finger in one bowl of ice and a regular finger in the other bowl of ice. Tell the difference?
Shapes (Feed the Bear): We had an empty box of Kodiak Cakes and this was the perfect way to use it! Print these fish (from Mom Inspired Life) and draw shapes on them. Have your child tell the bear which shape (and color!) he/she will be feeding him. I cut a slit by the bears mouth for the fish to fit into.
Fine Motor (Brown Bear Bingo): My boys LOVED playing Brown Bear Bingo (from Abby Buettner - Create free account to print!) We read the book together and afterward my four was able to do his own bingo board and my husband helped my two with his. We played this after dinner one night and earned a gummy bear for the winners. Great color review as well.
FRIDAY:
Rhyme & Gross Motor (Teddy Bear Song): We do a similar version as this one with actions. My boys love learning action songs. You can also use a stuffed animal bear and have your children do the actions with the stuffed bear.
Treat (Bear Claws): Oh my goodness these were good! My boys helped me form the bear claws and we popped them in the oven and topped them off with melted butter and cinnamon sugar. You need canned biscuits, butter and cinnamon sugar.
- Take the canned biscuits and pop open the container.
- Take a few of the biscuits and roll into small balls to be the "toes" of the paw. Attach to a larger biscuit. This should make 4-5 bear claws.
- Bake as directed. You can dip the paw in honey when you eat it - just like bears! - or top with butter and cinnamon sugar.
Outing (Teddy Bear Picnic): We don't have a zoo close enough to visit the bears this week, so we decided to do a Teddy Bear Picnic indoors. I didn't take a picture of ours, so the one below is from online.
Bear Booklist: And of course, we read often throughout the week. We mostly read before our quiet times each day, but we occasionally read during a meal or random time during the day. I placed these books on hold at our local library a week in advance and we enjoyed reading them this week as we learned about bears:
- Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson
- Biggest Bear by Lynd Ward
- Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? by Eric Carle
- Brown Bears by Marcia S. Freeman
- Face to Face with Grizzlies by Joel Sartore
- Gruff the Grump by Steve Smallman
- Let's Go Home Little Bear by Martin Waddell
- Sleep Big Bear Sleep by Maureen Wright
- The Sniffles for Bear by Bonny Becker
- A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker
