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Polar Bear, Polar Bear Activities with Eric Carle
Eric Carle books are such a staple in preschool classrooms. The fun themes, brightly-colored illustrations, and simple, repetitive text make them a favorite among young children. These books integrate really well into a variety of classroom themes, like animals, zoos, winter, and even travel.
Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? is a perfect book for a winter-themed unit. Here are fun Polar Bear Activities you can do with your preschool-age child:
- Thinking Skills - Gather a variety of different clothing items and sort them by "cold weather clothes" and "warm weather clothes". Likewise, cut photos of various sports and activities and have them sort "summer sports" from "winter sports".
- Matching - Make small copies of all the animals in the Polar Bear book. Place a rolled piece of tape on the back of each picture and have children tape the copy to the page of the corresponding animal in the book.
- Colors - Print pictures of the different animals in the book and have children color them the correct color. Older children can write the color names on each animal as well.
- Sensory Play - In a large bin, combine a variety of "snow" themed sensory items. This may include cotton balls, packing foam, snowflake confetti, and small plastic animals that live in the snow (e.g. polar bears, penguins, white foxes).
- Snack Idea - Used shaved ice to make snow cones.
- Arts and Crafts - Use white paper bags to make polar bear puppets. Use this snowflake math activity as a dual-purpose craft. See below for an additional craft idea!
Polar Bear in the Snow Activity for Preschoolers
Materials for an Eric Carle Inspired Polar Bear Activity
- Blue and white construction paper
- Textured white paint (just add sand to tempera paint)
- Cotton
- Wiggly eye
- Glue
- Glitter
- Paintbrush
Directions for an Eric Carle Inspired Polar Bear Activity
Begin by cutting out a polar bear from white construction paper and glue it to a sheet of blue construction paper. If you need assistance cutting out the bear, you can print off a polar bear outline template like this one but it was pretty simple to freehand.
Mix white textured paint by combining regular tempera paint with sand. Paint the snow on the ground and snowflakes in the sky.
Glue cotton to the polar bear’s body and a wiggly eye. This is a 4-year old’s Polar Bear in the Snow.
You can also add blue, silver, or white glitter to the ground and sky. This is a 2-year old’s interpretation of the craft, which I have titled Polar Bear in a Snowstorm.
As you talk through the stories with your children you'll be developing their language skills. And by bringing the stories to life you can keep their minds active, and hands busy, during the winter breaks when indoor activities are more important than ever for maintain sanity.
Do your kids have a favorite Eric Carle book?
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