Once Upon a Book ~ Bear Snores On

 Bear Snores On

by Karma Wilson

Summary:  Bear is hibernating.  But not for long!  Poor bear wakes up to find his friends having a party in his liar and he has slept through most of it.  His friends quickly make more tea and cookies and the party continues . . . until his friends get very sleepy.

Bible Verse: 

²¹ My son, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight,
   preserve sound judgment and discretion;
²² they will be life for you,
   an ornament to grace your neck.
²³ Then you will go on your way in safety,
   and your foot will not stumble.
²⁴ When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
   when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.  (Proverbs 3:21-24)

Coloring

I figured that if Gabe is coloring in Sunday School, then he should be coloring at home.  To accomplish this, I recommend giving your toddler 1-3 crayons.  If you give them much more, the crayons become something akin to a toy . . . something that is fun to break . . . or throw.  You can find this cute printable here.

 

The degree to which children will color their page will vary.  Gabe started out only scribbling one line.  So the fact that he stayed with this page to accomplish several lines made me quite happy.  You could also use Do-A-Dots, dot stickers, markers, water colors, or pastels. 

Hibernation Craft

Supplies:

• blue, green or white construction paper for the background
• grey half circle for the bear cave
• tape or glue
• forest stickers or clipart off of your computer of bears, trees, forest friends, etc.

 

Directions:

• Help your child tape the entrance to the bear’s cave to the background paper.  Only tape or glue at the very top of the cave, so that your child can open and shut the cave.  Essentially, so that your child can say “peek-a-boo” or “night night” to their bear. 
• Make sure that at least one bear makes it underneath the cave entrance. 

• Allow your child to place the rest of the stickers on their paper to create a forest.  At first, I handed Gabe the stickers one by one. 

Once he got used to putting the stickers on, I lined them up for him and he went to town!

P.S.  No, Gabe isn’t in AWANA for those of you who might be wondering.  But we did this activity on AWANA night . . . and he always likes to dress the same as his older brothers.   

Paint-A-Bear Magnet

Supplies:

• wooden bear (I purchased mine from Michaels)
• brown paint
• paint brush
• magnet

Directions:

• Secure a safe and covered location for your Tot to paint in freedom!
• Attach magnet to back of the brown bear once the craft has dried.
• Display on your fridge or give as a gift.

Hibernation in Action Activity

Supplies:

• Counting bears
• pretend cave (we used an old school desk)

Directions:

• This activity is really simple.  After reading the book, explain that when bears hibernate they are simply going to take a really long nap. 
• Have your child place the bears in the “fake” cave lying down for a long winter’s nap. 
• You could even practice counting how many bears fell asleep.

Crafts: Paper Bag Cave

Supplies:

• brown paper bag
  
• cotton balls
  
• glue
  
• scissors
  
• popsicle stick
  
• bear picture (I used clipart from Microsoft Word)

Directions:

• Cut off the bottom 4 inches of the brown bag.
• Cut an entrance to the cave, large enough for the bear puppet to fit through

• Have your Tot place glue on the popsicle stick and attach their bear to make a puppet.

• Spread glue evenly over the top of the brown bag, and glue cotton balls to the top to act as snow.

• Sing this song, and have your child pretend play.

Time for Sleeping  (sung to the tune of Sing a Song of Sixpence)

Now it's time for sleeping, The bears go in their caves. Keeping warm and cozy, Time for lazy days. When the snow is gone and the sun comes out to play, The bears will wake up from their sleep and then go on their way.

You can also have your counting bears find a cozy spot in the cave.

 

Make it Real:  Have a bear hibernate in your house for the Winter!

Supplies:

• stuffed teddy bear or picture of a bear (once again, I used some clip art from Word)
• dark hiding spot where a bear could stay the entire winter

Directions:

• Help your child find a dark and quiet spot to hibernate until spring!  Don’t forget about him!

 

Our hibernating bears are resting in the storage area of our basement.  Unfortunately, I think that I am going to disturb this little bear.  He is sleeping on my deep freezer!

Songs: 

Gabe didn’t just like this song . . . he LOVED this song and acting it out!

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

Sign Language:  Bear is a fun sign to learn.  It is like giving yourself a hug!



Want to see what's coming next (and books we've done in the past)? Click here to see our Once Upon a Book webpage!