Literature: Read Amy the Dancing Bear by Carly Simon (Trumpet Club, 1989)
Music: "The Bear Went Over the Mountain"
Dramatic Play: Pretend to be bears in hibernation and bears just waking up from hibernation.
Writing Center: Review "hibernation" concepts with the children. Find a cozy spot in the classroom. Let the children hide a class teddy bear in the cozy spot for winter hibernation. (Be sure to bring it back out in the spring.) The children can draw pictures of the bear in their writing journal and dictate what it will dream about.
Blocks Center: Provide small boxes to be used as cave entrances and teddy bear counters for the children to work with.
Manipulative Center: Provide the children with pictures of real and toy bears; have the children sort the pictures into two categories: real and toy.
Science Center: Have the children graph and compare sizes of different kinds of bears. (Kodiak-11 feet tall, polar bear-10 feet tall, black bear-6 feet tall)
Art: Paint at easel, play dough, markers, etc. Encourage children to make bears.
