Preschool Adventure Box: B4FIAR We're Going on a Bear Hunt

TOPIC: BEARS

This year I want to be a little less haphazard about my two little one’s activities.   A4 will continue to have her one hour school with me doing Mathusee Primer and Jolly Phonics.  I want to be more  purposeful about the fun school I do with the two little girls.  To this end I’ve created a Preschool Adventure Box and a written frame work with which to organise my planning of the short units I do with them.

Much excitement over their box of goodies.

• Read alouds and go along books

These were the little one’s bed time read alouds.  They were also available in the morning whilst the older ones were doing their chores and also during quiet time.

       

• Factual books

In the same vein as the fiction books, these were available in the morning and during quiet time to brouse through.  The rest of the factual books were mainly used for their pictures rather than script.

    

In the mornings the younger two, especially B1, play with play dough.  Like last week I made a play dough mat by photo copying the front page of Going on a Bear Hunt:

• Dress up and drama

For this unit we had dress up:

Cute lil’ sisters

Some stick puppets (which we made during the unit):

We’re going on a bear hunt puppets

Some toy bears with props (a selection of playmobil, Schliech models and Duplo lego):

A4 playing with her toy bears

• Trays

I aim to make 6 trays each week.  The little ones will have three each to begin with and then swop over.  A4 has normal trays, whereas I have used the highsided (new!) small cat litter trays, which contains the materials rather well!  Each set of three contains the following:

• A printable with art supplies
• small world tub
• Puzzle or shape activity

And sometimes the older children gather supplies from the preschool adventure box and three trays and make some up of their own volition.  So proud:

L10 wanted some tray time with A4 so made up her own trays and away they went!

• Our Classification Cards

We own this set of classifying cards.  We talked about whether bears were found in grasslands, deserts, oceans or tropical areas.

A4 was feeling blue having had a nasty cut on her hand, so her lovely big sister C10 made a makeshift bed on the floor and tucked her in.  Next thing I knew they were going through all the cards, giggling away at all the animals.  I LOVE the closeness which homeschooling encourages!

• Games or Group activities:

This time around A4 and B1 have wanted to be read to  All.  The.  Time.  My older ones are quick to volunteer, in particular C10, who ‘does all the voices’!

C10 reading, very expressively, ‘Going on a Bear Hunt’

And the Little Bear books

And acting out the story afterwards

This lead on to the obligatory teddy bear tea party (which was oft repeated throughout the week):

I made a set of sensory trays which the older ones enjoyed playing in as much as the younger ones! (if not more!!):

Our ‘Going on a Bear Hunt’ sensory experience!

The grass was shredded green paper; the river was water; the mud T11 collected from the garden and soaked with water for the squelch effect; T11 also collected some branches from different trees for the forest; we used shaving foam for the snow storm; I covered a wooden box with hessian for the cave and T11 built a simple lego house. I had A4 put the trays in the order in the book and gave them the puppets we had made the day before

They playing going on a bear hunt….

Again…

And again…

And when they tired of the bear hunt, they simply played….in the foam of course!

Printables

I photocopy a wad of these to hand out as and when needed.

http://www.homeschoolcreations.net/2011/08/were-going-on-bear-hunt-printables/ http://www.homeschoolshare.com/b4_resources_we’re_going_bear_hunt.php http://www.wordsforlife.org.uk/bear-hunt http://clubs-kids.scholastic.co.uk/products/352 http://twistynoodle.com/were-going-on-a-bear-hunt-4-coloring-page/ http://twistynoodle.com/coloring-pages/animals/bears/

Snacks

• Teddy bear jelly and smashed pineapple lollies

B1 helped to make the frozen lollies and jelly pots.  Here she is smashing some of the pineapple for the lollies

After cooling we popped them in the freezer to make frozen jelly lollies! Yummy!

• Teddy bear shaped muffins:

L10 and A4 made the banana and blue berry muffins for our surprise tea (to A4 and B1-the others were in on it) with some left over for snacks the next day

• Teddy bear toast and honey:

• Jelly and pineapple pots, making extra for the party:

B1 and I had some special time alone preparing the jellies to go in the bag.  She really loved it and it served as a reminder to me to spend more time alone with her.  She followed the instructions I gave her very well and was extremely careful and precise in everything she attempted.  It really surprised me.  I’m definitely going to have her in the kitchen more!

Here she is carefully filling the small jelly containers with pineapple

And mixing the jelly

And our jelly pots.  We made five as a snack and five to save for our special tea.  They have a lid to fix on and then they are ready for the picnic bags

• Special A4 and Mummy activity

We made some stick puppets to use for reenactment during quiet time:

I photocopied the front and back page onto card

We cut out the figures

Stuck double sided sticky tape on the back

Stuck the straw onto the sticky tape to make a puppet

One decidedly happy little girl with her puppets

• DVD’s and YouTube videos and any other learning bits and pieces

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb-nTnriTP8&feature=player_embedded http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytc0U2WAz4s&feature=player_embedded

This video is FANTASTIC!  The whole family including Granny next door LOVED it!

I made some plaster cast bears, which I packaged in celophane bags and hid them in the garden.  I gave the children a set of binoculars each and told them to go on their own bear hunt.  I told them they could paint them after our special tea.  They were all thrilled:

I bought a set of four molds, using two for plaster of paris and two for chocolate.

Packaged, they are ready for me to hide them in the garden

Making lots of lovely mess….

…….painting her bear

Plaster casts are one of my favourite things to do for all ages. My older children have been doing them for 8 or so years and it still floats their boat. A real success!

•  Our special themed tea

We had brown paper gift bags to which I stuck a paper bear face. Inside I popped a bear muffin wrapped in parchment paper, pineapple and jelly pots, an orange and some cute bear chocolates that we had made earlier in the day.

Gary and I planned a simple reenactment of the bear hunt, moving through our garden- we have lots of mud, grass, water and trees to use – no snow unfortunately!  T11 agreed to be bear and Gary was the daddy carrying A1 on his shoulders.  The older ones had learnt the book almost verbatum through all their play, so basically narrated it as they moved through the scenes.  Our living room has a sofa bed in which we made into a bed with a patchwork quilt.  I balanced picnic bags (bear themed of course!) on the head board.  Gary and the children, persued by a bear named T11, ran to the living room, then back to the front door to lock T11 out, and finally back to the living room to reveal this:

The younger ones had no idea and were so excited.

Daddy was over wrought by his experience and promptly fell asleep with relief at escaping from the bear!

In addition to our fun tea in bed, I also made A4 and B1 a ‘Going on a Bear Hunt’ muffin tin meal:

I included arrows as a visual to remind A4 which order the landscapes came in.  She really got into this meal, excitedly telling daddy what each food represented.  Such fun!

I did peas with a few sweetcorn for the swishy, swashy grass; I dyed some lemonade blue with some natural food dye ( a huge treat for A4) to represent the cold, deep river; mashed carrots for the squelchy mud; broccoli for the thick forest; white fish in a cheese sauce with extra grated cheese as the swirly snow storm; a baked potato with a hole carved out as the dark cave (I also froze some soft cheese in the bear chocolate mold and popped it inside the cave); and last but not least we made a chocolate bear which I placed on some shredded green paper for the bear

• More inspiration

http://www.kidsandtraffic.mq.edu.au/educators/masks.htm

http://www.polkatheatre.com/images/useruploads/files/Schools/We%20are%20Going%20on%20a%20Bear%20Hunt.pdf http://www.makinglearningfun.com/themepages/BearHuntEmergentReader.htm http://www.teachingheart.net/teddybear.html

Felt play: http://www.makinglearningfun.com/themepages/BearWereGoingonaBearHunt2.htm http://www.kizclub.com/storypatterns/bearhunt(C).pdf

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