Montessori-Inspired Bear Activities Using Free Printables

By Deb Chitwood from Living Montessori Now 

Bear themes are so much fun, whether they're Brown Bear, Brown Bear themed, Teddy bear themed, or featuring any of the beloved bear characters from literature. But a real bear unit can be fun, too. Kids are generally fascinated by bears, and hibernation is a great theme for fall and winter. 

At Living Montessori Now, I have a list of free bear printables featuring real bears. The free printables include my latest subscriber freebie (a Montessori-inspired bear pack). Here, I'm sharing ideas for using free bear printables to create Montessori-inspired activities. 

You'll find many activities for preschoolers through first graders throughout the year along with presentation ideas in my previous posts at PreK + K Sharing. You'll also find ideas for using free printables to create activity trays here: How to Use Printables to Create Montessori-Inspired Activities. At Living Montessori Now, I have a post with resource links of Free Printables for Montessori Homeschools and Preschools. 

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links (at no cost to you). 

Montessori Shelves with Bear-Themed Activities

 

My shelves with bear-themed activities include a free bear culture card designed by The Montessori Company. You’ll also find Montessori-inspired bear numbers, letters, spinners, and and more (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber) 

I always have related books available throughout a unit. I absolutely adore the National Geographic animal books. There are a number of awesome National Geographic bear books to choose from. I included  Bears: Polar Bears, Black Bears and Grizzly Bears (Kids Can Press Wildlife Series) on my introductory bear shelf. I have lots of fictional bear books in our book baskets and on our book shelves. 

My 4-year-old granddaughter, Zoey, loves puzzles, so I have a giant world foam puzzle with 54 pieces in a large basket (not shown in my photos). That's great for using with Safari Ltd. or Schleich animals. 

When Zoey was younger, I used the puzzle that I have displayed for  animal geography. I don't think it's available any longer. For home use, I don't use the Montessori continent puzzle, which is a bit too large and impractical. I like to get world puzzles that are less expensive and can be changed according to Zoey's developmental level. 

I have a few Schleich bears as an introduction. (I'm collecting Schleich animals for my two grandbabies who will be born in the next few months!) 

You could mix your bear-themed activities among your shelves according to curriculum area. Or you could have a special bear-themed area something like the one pictured. My shelves this month have a mixture of skill levels. Many of the activities can be adapted for a variety of levels. If you’re a homeschooler, just choose the activities that work for your child’s interests and ability levels. If you don’t have room for all the activities you’d like to do, simply rotate them.

Bear Culture Card (on Shelf Introducing the Bear Theme)

 

I'm happy to share with you this awesome hand-painted bear culture card from The Montessori Company. You can use it on your shelves to introduce a bear unit. I’m hosting the free printable as an instant download at Living Montessori Now. You can always access the free bear culture card here. 

The description says: “Bears are omnivores that eat berries, honey, nuts, fish and other mammals. In the winter they dig holes to hibernate in.” I displayed the card with a Schleich North America sloth bear and Bears Are Curious book (especially good for toddlers, young preschoolers, and beginning readers).

Matching Animals of North America Cards with Safari Ltd. Animals Free Printable: North American Mammal Cards from Welcome to Mommyhood 

I used mainly animals from the Safari Ltd. North American Wildlife TOOB. I just used a bamboo paper plate holder for the materials.  Bamboo paper plate holders are inexpensive and work well for a number of activities. 

Matching North American Animal Silhouettes with Animal Pictures  

Free Printable: North American Animal Silhouettes from Imagine Our Life 

This couldn't be much easier to prepare. I just printed it, cut it out (rather than having the child draw lines to match the animal and silhouette), and put it in a Montessori Services basket. 

Letter Z Object Basket with Mystery Bag and Blindfold  
Free Printables: Bear Letters for Letter B Object Basket (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber) 

Using the Letter B Mystery Bag and Blindfold to Identify Objects Starting with the /b/ Sound

We used a Montessori mystery bag and blindfold for interest and to work on the stereognostic sense. I got the basket, mystery bag, and blindfold from Montessori Services. I don't put this out each unit, and Zoey loves when I do use it. 

Letter B Sand Tray 

Free Printables: /b/ is for bear in manuscript, D'Nealian, or Cursive for Letter B Sand Writing Tray (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber) 

For the tray, I used the wooden tray from the Melissa & Doug Lace and Trace Shapes. You can use whatever tray or container work best for you, though. I added a Safari Ltd. bear for interest. 

Tray for Making an Animals That Hibernate Mini-Book  

Free Printable: Little Book of Animals That Hibernate from Lil’ Country Librarian 

I just used a Multicraft tray and a few office supplies for the book. Zoey was very drawn to this work and loved the book she made. 

Bear Puzzles  

Free Printable: 4 Bear Puzzles from Polar Bear Pack (now a subscriber freebie) from Blessed and Happy Home 

You'll also find some free bear puzzles on Teachers Pay Teachers. 

These are simple puzzles that work well for a young preschooler. For Zoey, I mixed up four puzzles in the Montessori Services baskett so that she can sort them out before putting them together. 

Matching Numerals with Miniature Bears and Bead Bars  

Free Printable: Bear Numbers (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber) 

This activity uses a piece of felt for a table mat and bead bars from the decanomial box in a Multicraft tray and a Bambu condiment cup (what I used here) or  Montessori Services basket. (My bead bars, which I love, are from Alison’s Montessori. You can get bead bars on Amazon, although I haven’t personally used materials from those companies.) 

I also added 20 Safari Ltd. Good Luck Mini black bears. I was lucky to find them at a great price in an outlet store. I would also have been happy using fish (something bears like to eat) for the counters. I still have the silver fish from our penguin theme, so I would have used those.



You could make a game using one of the spinners from our subscriber freebie or you could play it like a card game. I like to mix the cards up, turn them over, and have the child draw a card.  The mini bears are laid out and then the bead bars to represent the number drawn. 

Hibernation, Migration, and Adaptation Activity

Free Printable: Animals in Winter: Migration, Hibernation, and Adaptation (subscriber freebie) from The Natural Homeschool 

This was another super-easy activity to prepare. It just requires the printables and some office supplies. Hibernation, migration, and adaptation are great concepts for children to understand. 

More Free Bear Printables 

Go to my post at Living Montessori Now for links to free bear printables from around the blogosphere: Free Bear Printables and Montessori-Inspired Bear Activities. And be sure to subscribe to my email list if you'd like to get an exclusive free printable each month (plus two more awesome freebies right away): Free Printables.

HELPFUL ANIMAL CLASSIFICATION POSTS

• Living and Non-Living
• Plant and Animal Sorting
• Montessori Animal Classification
• Free Zoo Printables and Montessori-Inspired Zoo Activities
• Montessori-Inspired Animal Units

If you'd like to focus on manners with children, please check out my eBook Montessori at Home or School: How to Teach Grace and Courtesy! It's written for anyone who'd like to feel comfortable teaching manners to children ages 2-12. I'm also one of the coauthors of the book Learn with Play – 150+ Activities for Year-round Fun & Learning!

Have a great rest of the month!

Deb Chitwood is a certified Montessori teacher with a master’s degree in Early Childhood Studies from Sheffield Hallam University in Sheffield, England. Deb taught in Montessori schools in Iowa and Arizona before becoming owner/director/teacher of her own Montessori school in South Dakota. Later, she homeschooled her two children through high school. Deb is now a Montessori writer who lives in San Diego with her husband of 42 years (and lives in the city where her kids, kids-in-law, and 3-year-old granddaughter live). She blogs at Living Montessori Now.

Don't Wake The Bear! Let's Learn About Hibernation!

   Today was our first day back to school after our winter break and we are learning about animals that take a little break of their own during the winter. We are learning about hibernation! We talk about some of the many animals that we've learned about that hibernate---bears, some turtles, frogs, squirrels, rodents, skunks, bats, groundhogs, raccoons, and even some snakes and insects.  Tomorrow, we will make an anchor chart of these animals.

One of the favorite activities for hibernation with some of our "builders" is to have students build caves for the counting bears with legos. Somehow, I can't find a decent picture to share here but I will try to come back and add one later. We have also used marshmallows to build caves for gummy bears.

One of our math activities is making some simple caves with brown paper bags and having the students roll a dice to add the appropriate number of counting bears (or gummy bears, for even more interest). At the end, each student lifts the cave up and counts the total number of bears to compare with classmates.

Gummy bear graphing is another fun way to sneak a little math into learning about bears and hibernation.

Years ago, I made this little hibernation flannelboard set to go along with a little story I picked up somewhere. I think it may be from Jean Warren*(but I'm not sure).

The Bear and the Mountain

  by Jean Warren*

There once was a mountain

Who lived all alone.

He had no friends--

Not even a phone.

He smiled at planes

High in the sky.

But none of them stopped

As they flew by.

All through the winter

He was covered in snow

Then during summer

Wildflowers would grow.

He often saw people

Who came just to play.

But no one who came

Wanted to stay.

They were too busy---

Too much on the go.

Up they would climb,

Then down they would flow.

Then one fine day

Something paused and sighed.

As it huffed and it puffed

Up the mountain’s side.

Slowly up the mountain

Came a little brown bear

Wearing wildflowers

in her soft fuzzy hair.

“Hello, Big Mountain,

How do you do?

Can I please stay

This summer with you?”

“Of course,” said the mountain,

“It will be fun.

Run all you like

On my tummy-tum-tum.”

Little Bear was happy---

The mountain was, too.

Having a friend

Was something quite new.

Little Bear would race

Up the mountain’s side.

Then tumble and roll

And slip and slide.

All through the summer

Their friendship grew,

But then one day

The cold winds blew.

Now Little Bear

Knew that she had to go

Before the mountain

Was covered in snow.

“Please don’t go,”

The mountain cried.

“I’ll make a safe place

Where you can hide.”

He rumbled and rolled

And then cupped his arm

To make a warm shelter

All safe from harm.

Now Little Bear

Had a new home.

Now she would never

Have to roam.

Let the snow come---

She didn’t care.

She had a home

Just right for a bear.

The bear and the mountain

Were a sight to see,

Each with a friend,

Living happily.

Another one of our favorite activities is the "Hibernation Game", The children pretend to be hibernating. I give them a direction to wake up if they hear a certain cue. We start with using the names of animals that hibernate or don't hibernate. Sometimes, I will call out activities that will happen during the year. If a bear would miss it because of hibernation, they stay asleep, if they would not be hibernating during that time of year, they pop up and are "awake". Sometimes, I use pairs of words and rhyming words are the ones that will "wake the bears". The children love, love, love this game, so we find lots of ways to change it up and incorporate a variety of skills and knowledge.

Hibernation is part of a larger winter unit that we learn about. No winter unit would be complete without snow. We don't get very much snow in our area so we have to make our own snow activities and pretend that it is the real thing. One of the things we do frequently is using shaving cream "snow" as a sensory and fine motor experience. 

I saw this idea yesterday in one of our toddler rooms and thought it was brilliant! The toddlers will, of course, put everything into their mouths, so they are using whipped topping just as you would with shaving cream. The kids loved it!

Here are some of my favorite books about hibernation. Affiliate links are included for your convenience. 




Thanks for stopping by! Sending warm winter wishes from sunny (but chilly!) Georgia! 

**This post contains Amazon Affiliate links.  little illuminations is a participant in the Amazon Srvices LLC Associates Program, an affliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. **

I'm thrilled to say I have been blogging here on PreK+K Sharing since the very beginning!  I am a Ga. Pre-K teacher, serving 4 and 5 year olds in an inclusive setting. Stop by and visit me anytime at littleilluminations.blogspot.com where I share my PreK classroom adventures or visit the little illuminations fanpage on facebook! And be sure to check out PreK+K Sharing EEE!