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Bears
We love BEARS!
We begin each new year
with a bear themed unit. We do this because there are so many wonderful
bear themed resources and quality pieces of literature to use. On the
first day of school we invite the children to bring a teddy bear to school
(or other special stuffed friend) so they will have a special buddy to
share the day with. We encourage the children to bring their teddy bear to
school each day during the first week of school and of course we bring our
teddy bears too. We have many fun activities planned and culminate the
week by having a "Teddy Bear Picnic". If you are interested in
our entire unit, it is available as a thematic e-book and may be viewed by
clicking on the icon to the right entitled: "Bears".
Tracy's Teddy Bear
Search
During the first week
of school my teddy bear becomes lost. The children help me search the
campus looking for him. We visit every key staff member and office during
our search. The students learn the campus, meet the staff members, and of
course each staff member's teddy bear. We ask if they have seen our
missing Teddy Bear and most have seen him, but not recently and give us
clues as to where we might look next. As we are searching, I am taking
photographs of each staff member and the various places we look. In the
end, my teddy bear is found with the principal. They have been very busy
preparing a special back to school event together and were just about to
share some teddy grahams and milk together. We are all invited to join
them and the principal has individual serving bags of teddy grahams and
milk ready to pass out. It is always a fun event and after we have
finished I place all the photographs into a class book that is sent home
to share with parents. This way the parents are also introduced to the
staff members, their offices and job descriptions. Sample text may read as
follows:
Teddy Bear is Lost!
One day Mrs. Jarboe's
teddy bear did not come back to class after recess. We searched the entire
campus looking for him.
First we visited Mrs.
Smith our school secretary. She works in the main office doing very
important things that keep our school running. She always smiles at us and
asks how she can help us. Mrs. Smith usually knows where everything is,
but she hadn't seen our teddy bear.
Next we visited Mrs.
Hall in the health office. She is our school nurse and is always there to
help us if we get hurt or don't feel good. Mrs. Jarboe's bear had not
visited her today, so he must be healthy. Whew!
We decided to visit
Mr. Parker in the maintenance office. He is our school custodian and keeps
the campus safe and clean. He shared that our bear had helped him clean
the cafeteria earlier. Maybe he was still there?
.... the story
continues as we meet all the key staff members and eventually find our
missing teddy bear friend safe a sound in the principals office preparing
a surprise for us all. You may do this activity without a teddy bear -
just read a story like "Rosie's Walk" and then take your own "Campus Walk"
together.
Fun Songs and Games
Hap Palmer has a CD
entitled: "So Big". This is a really fun CD packed with great
transitional songs. Our favorite is a song entitled: "Teddy Bear
Playtime".
"Going On a Bear Hunt"
and "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear" are classic favorites too!
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear
turn around.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear
touch the ground.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear
jump up high.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear
touch the sky.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear
touch your nose.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear
touch your toes.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear
run upstairs.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear
say your prayers.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear
turn out the light.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear
say good-night.
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Five Teddy Bears
(Tracy Jarboe & Stefani Sadler)
Five Little Teddy
Bears sitting in a row.
The first one said, "I
can touch my toe."
The second one said,
"I can wiggle my nose."
The third one said, "I
can strike a pose."
The fourth one said,
"I smell honey over there."
The fifth one said,
"Let's get some to share."
But out came the bees
and they buzzed all around.
Sting! Sting! Sting!
Not a bear could be found.
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Teddy Bear Art
Recipes
Cinnamon Applesauce
Bears Ornaments
Place 1 & 1/2 cups of
applesauce and 1 & 1/2 cups of cinnamon in a Zip-loc bag and knead until
well blended. (Warehouse stores like Costco or restaurant supply stores
sell cinnamon in large containers for a low price.)
Roll the dough out on
wax paper to about 1/2 inch thickness and cut out bear shapes using a bear
shaped cookie cutter. (Wilton makes bear shaped cookie cutters.)
Use a straw to poke a
small hole through the top of the bear for hanging.
Allow the bears to air
dry for several days. The thickness of the dough determines how many days
it will take to dry. You may speed the process along by turning the bears
over after a couple days to allow the underside to dry more quickly.
Lace a length of thin
ribbon through the hole for hanging. These teddy bear ornaments are very
fragrant and make a wonderful gift.
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