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FRIENDS OF THE
FOREST THEME
CRAFTS:
Bear Craft
The children make bear hats
and cards.
Cinnamon Bear
simple bear shape (precut
for younger ones), cinnamon, sugar, liquid glue
Directions: 1) mix sugar
and cinnamon, 2) have older children cut out bear shape
3) children can place glue
anywhere on the bear and add cinnamon and sugar mixture
4) glue poem to middle of
bear so they can share with their parents.
Deer Hats
Materials: tan or brown
construction paper; markers; scissors; stapler what to do: Trace and cut
out an outline of a deer antler on the construction paper. Use this antler
as a pattern for the other. Provide a paper headband (about 3" thick) for
each Beaver, and size it to his head. Staple the headband into a circle.
Antlers can then be stapled on to each side, and the Kids can decorate
the headband.
Hibernating Bear
Materials needed: 1 small
paper cup, 1 brown pom-pom, 1 piece stiff paper (about 3x5), cotton balls,
glue
Directions: The cup is the
cave. Have children tear a small half circle piece off of the cup starting
at the cup rim. This is the opening to the cave. Glue pom-pom in center
of stiff paper piece. This is the bear. Put glue on the rim of the cup
and place it on the stiff paper with the pom-pom inside. Spread glue on
the outside of the cup and the stiff paper around the cup. Pull cotton
balls to stretch the fiber to look fluffy. Place this on the glue that
is on and around the cup. This is snow. Your project will now look like
a bear curled up in a cave to hibernate for the winter.
Quick Crafts
Bear sponge paintings
Brown play dough with bear
cookie cutters.
Sandpaper Cinnamon Bears
Glue sandpaper to tag board
and then cut out bear shapes. Give the children cinnamon sticks and let
them rub the sticks on the sandpaper. The bears will smell like cinnamon!
Squirrel Art
Cut out and paint (gray,
of course!) a squirrel. Glue a nut in his front paws.
Wolf Art
Provide each child with
a cutout shape of a wolf. Have fake fur, felt, glitter, markers, and various
craft supplies available for them to add to their wolf any way they want.
You may have to help them trace the shape onto felt and cut out.
GAMES & ACTIVITIES:
Acorn Toss
Toss on the shape of a squirrel.
Hunt for acorns.
Acorn Hunt
Children search for paper
acorns during a specified amount of time. Collect in a bag. At the end
of the time count to see who has the most or just how many each child has
found.
Bunny Hop
Materials: None
What to Do: Here's
a good energy burner inside or out. Kids scatter in the play area
and, as they chant, follow the words in each verse. First they hop on two
legs, then their right leg, and finally join hands first with partners
and then with other pairs. After the first three verses, start hopping
on two legs again and continue the actions until the whole hopping group
is linked together. Then you can all collapse. I'm an Easter bunny,
Hop, hop, hop, I hop on two legs, Hop, hop, hop, I hop to find a friend,
and we don't stop, we hop on two legs. Hop, hop, and hop. We are Easter
bunnies, we hop, hop, hop, we hop on our right leg, Hop, hop, hop, we hop
to find some friends, and we don't stop, we hop on the right leg, Hop,
hop, hop. We are Easter bunnies, we hop, hop, hop, we hop on the left leg
(etc.)
Bear Awards
Teacher decides on award
after looking at each teddy, awards are given with description written
on it. For example: Tallest Bear, Purple-est Bear, Silliest Bear, Bear
with the Biggest nose, Most Hugged Bear, etc.
Bear Sorting
Ask the children to sort
the teddy bears by categories (size, color, those wearing bows, etc.) Then
count the number in each category. Also, let the children come up with
ideas for categories. Talk about more and less.
Bear Hunt
Have the children bring
in bears on a Monday and talk about bears and hibernation in the course
of the week. At the end of the week, in the morning before the kids come
in, hide the bears in the back behind trees, on swings, etc. The class
then goes out to find their "hibernating" bears ["bear hunt"]. When they
come in they can have cooperative learning groups. One group can draw pictures
where their bears are on a map of the backyard, the other group can tear
paper for a third group to paste onto a box to make a cave for the class
bear for the winter.
Big Bad Wolf
Choose one child to be the
wolf. The wolf stands with its back to the other children pretending to
be asleep. The other children are the pigs. They stand at a starting line
about 12 feet from the wolf. When the teacher says, "Go!" the pigs try
to creep up to the wolf without waking it. The wolf counts to 10, shouts,
"Freeze!" and turns around. The pigs must stop and be very still. Anyone
the wolf sees moving must go back to the starting line. Repeat the game
until one of the pigs reaches the wolf. This child may start a new round,
becoming the next wolf.
Graham Grid
Each child gets assortment
of Teddy Bear Grahams and grid paper to make graph (& then eat!)
Howling
Have the children pretend
to be wolves and howl at the moon!
Nutty
Squirrels
Go
outside and watch the squirrels. Stand very still and watch what
they eat or where they take their next when they picked them up.
Pick up the same type of nut. Feel the out side and in crack it open
for the children to see the inside. Does it smell? Let them
pretend to be squirrels and hide their nights in the ground. Ask
them what might happen to this nut if the squirrel forget about it.
Check this area Gannon in the late spring to see if the children can see
anything beginning to grow from their hidden nuts.
Play Hot Acorn
Hide an acorn, then play
hot or cold as child searches for it. Say you are getting warmer as child
gets closer, and say you are getting colder as child gets farther away.
Or clap louder or slower. Or run in place faster or slower (scamper like
squirrels).
Pin the Tail of the Squirrel
Play "pin the tail (or acorn)
on the squirrel".
Red Squirrel/Black Squirrel
Red and black squirrels
don’t get along in the wild. Leaders should choose five kids to be red
squirrels; the rest of the group become black squirrels. When black squirrels
are tagged by red squirrels, they become red squirrels. When five black
squirrels are left, they switch to red squirrels and start the game over
again.
Squirrel Counting Game
Cut 10 squirrels from paper.
Label each from 1 to 10. Laminate. Attach to a margarine tub and place
that number of nuts in the correct bowls. Feed the squirrels the correct
number. Find flocked squirrels at a craft store and label tubs from 1 to
5. (or more) Place correct number of squirrels into each tub. Children
love to play with the flocked counters! Use caution with children who still
put things in their mouths. (Also check their pockets, they really like
them.)
Squirrel Tangle
Have the kids make circles
of five or six. One kid is the squirrel; the rest form the nest. The nest
becomes tangled by having kids hold arms out straight in front and crossing
them at the elbows.
Each child then grabs the
hand of another kid in the circle with each hand. They may not hold hands
with kids on either side of them or hold two hands belonging to the same
player.
The object of the game is
for kids to untangle themselves without unclasping their hands. The squirrel
helps by giving untangling instructions to the nest. The nest should try
to return to a circle formation where everyone is holding hands.
Squirrels Collecting Nuts
Materials: -hula hoops,
-music,
Procedure: Children pretend
to be squirrels gathering nuts (use hula hoops for the "squirrels" to put
their "nuts" in). This can be a game with music. When the music stops,
the "squirrels" go "home" (hula hoops). Take away one hoop each time the
music stops, so that the "squirrels" have to share "homes."
Teddy Bear Visitors
For Bear day bring teddy
bears from home. Have all the kids make up a story with their bear as the
main character and then type and print for them. Watch all the Winnie the
Pooh's that you have and read some Berenstein Bear books and some Little
Bear books. For crafts make some paper bears and glue them to craft sticks
and have a puppet show with them.
Teddy Bear Tea Party
Each child brings their
favorite bear (or stuffed animal) and has a tea party. Have play dishes,
cups and saucers for the bears and the bears sit at the little table. The
kids serve their bears pretend tea and cookies. Then the children ages
2 to 4 go to the "big" table and have cookies and apple juice (their tea).
You can print off a paper place mat with a picture of a bear for the place
mat and have them color it when they are done eating.
The Three Bear Family
First get a refrigerator
or wash machine box and cut off one of the sides. Then on the center piece
cut a peaked roof and a window on each of the sides. It's no longer a complete
box but an opened up "U" shape. The kids can get on both sides of it and
paint it using bright colors. When this is dry, use it as kind of a back
drop for the house.
The kids can build beds,
chairs, and a table using the hollow blocks - good math activity trying
to figure out the different size beds: if we use two blocks for the baby
bed, how many for mom's and dad's? Same thing with the chairs.
You can provide pillows
and blankets, and: a baby bonnet for baby bear, an apron and hat for mama
bear, a tie and hat for papa bear, a dress and barrette with yellow curls
for goldilocks, a giant bowl, middle sized bowl and baby bowl, a giant
wooden spoon (the kind that hangs on the wall - a thrift store find), a
tablespoon and a baby spoon. Then enact the play.
Teddy Bear Poster
When the children bring
their bears help the children trace around them onto a large piece of paper.
The children then color them to look like their teddies and to the side
of these drawings write these sentences:
My bear's name is ________.
______ is ________inches
long. (together use a ruler to measure teddy)
________came to live with
me when_____________. (the story of where bear came from)
__________ and I like to
______________. (what the child likes to do with teddy)
The children can fill in
the lines with help or you can fill in the lines for them. The sentences
can be changed to any topic that might capture the interest of children.
Three Little Pigs
Act out the story of the
three little pigs.
Turtles and Frogs
Equipment: none How to Play:
Choose one child to be the caller. The rest of the kids should line up
about two feet from each other, waiting for instructions. If the caller
yells "Leap Frog" the Beavers crouch down, and the last player in line
leaps over the rest one by one. When he reaches the front, he crouches
down and the Beaver who is now last in line starts leaping. When the caller
wants a change, she yells "Turtle Crawl!" and the kids all stand up so
that the last child can now crawl through their legs. The caller can switch
back and forth and make it as funny for herself as she likes!
Unusual Animals
Materials: Nature
and wildlife picture books What to Do: Have the group, individually
or in pairs, look up animals in the nature books. Have the kids make
a list of all the animals they consider to be odd or unusual. You
can start the group on its hunt by asking them to look up animals such
as the walking leaf, the sea elephant, the frog fish and the roadrunner.
When their lists are complete, have Beavers share with the rest of the
group their unusual animals and the characteristics that they think makes
the animal strange.
What Time Is It, Mr. Wolf?
Play "What time is it Mr.
Wolf?" One child is chosen to be the wolf and must stand with his back
a fair distance away. All the other children line up, and ask, "What time
is it Mr. Wolf?" to which the child replies, "It's three o'clock" or whatever
time he chooses and the children take that many steps towards him. This
continues until the "Wolf" feels that the children are real close at which
time he replies, "It's lunch time" and proceeds to run and tag the next
Mr. Wolf. (great with the Beavers)
Wolves vs. Dogs
There are different kinds
of wolves - find pictures of different kinds, mount them on cards and share
them with the children. Talk about their similarities and differences,
where they live, etc. What makes them different from dogs? What are some
of their similarities with dogs?
Weighty Bears
Review the concepts of heavy
and light by having one child at a time hold a different teddy bear in
each hand. Which bear feels heavier? Which feels lighter? Provide a balance
scale to compare the weights of different bears.
SONGS:
Bunny
Walk
A
wee little bunny (squat sit)
Popped
out of the ground (jump up)
He
stood very still (stand still)
Then
he looked all around (look around, wiggle noses)
He
ran to the meadow (run on the spot)
He
sat in the sun (squat sit)
Along
came his good friend (shake hands with next Beaver)
So
they ran and had fun (run around in a little circle).
Cinnamon
Bear Poem
Cinnamon,
Cinnamon Cinnamon Bear Sitting on a kitchen chair.
Cinnamon
sugar in a shaker. Shake, shake, shake it Like a baker.
Sprinkle
it on buttered toast. It's the treat You'll love the most.
Cinnamon,
Cinnamon, Cinnamon Bear, Do you think that we may share?
Five
Little Bears: Counting up
One
little bear
Wondering
what to do
Along
came another
Then
there were two!
Two
little bears
Climbing
up a tree
Along
came another
Then
there were three!
Three
little bears
Ate
an apple core
Along
came another
Then
there were four!
Four
little honey bears
Found
honey in a hive
Along
came another
Then
there were five!
Five
Little Bears: Counting Down
Five
little bears
Heard
a loud roar
One
ran away
Then
there were four!
Four
little bears
Climbing
up a tree
One
slid down
Then
there were three!
Three
little bears
Deciding
what to do
One
fell asleep
Then
there were two!
Two
little bears
Having
lots of fun
One
went home
Then
there was one!
One
little bear
Feeling
all alone
Ran
to his mother
Then
there were none!
Gray
Squirrel
Gray
squirrel, gray squirrel,
Doesn't
make a sound,
As
he buries acorns
Under
the ground.
Later,
when it's cold
And
food isn't around,
The
gray squirrel will dig
His
acorns from the ground!
Hopping,
Hopping
Sung
to the tune of "Swimming, Swimming." A quiet action song.
Hopping,
hopping (bounce on bottoms)
Down
the forest trail
(nod
head from left to right)
In
the rain, in the sun
(wiggle
fingers down),
(hands
held together over head)
Down
the forest trail
Long
ears, short ears
(stretch
two arms straight up),
(open
hands by ears)Straight and floppy too
(arms
straight out),
(arms
over head, but hanging down from the elbows)
Now
don't you think they
Don't
have anything
(shake
finger)
Hoppier
to do.
Keep
singing the song but omitting one group of words each time until you are
only doing the actions.
I’m a Nut
Chant
Chorus: Repeat after each
verse
I’m a nut, tch, tch, I’m
a nut, tch, tch
(Touch temple for “tch”)
I’m a nut, I’m a nut, I’m
a nut.
I’m a little acorn brown
(Make a circle with
thumb and forefinger)
Lying on the cold, cold
ground
Everybody steps on me
That is why I’m cracked
you see.
I called myself on the telephone
(Dialling motions)
Just to see if I was home
I asked myself out for a
date
Better be ready ’bout half-past-eight.
I take myself to the movie
show
Sit myself in the second
row
Put my arm around my waist
Eat some popcorn, and fill
my face.
Gray
Squirrel song
Gray
squirrel, gray squirrel, swish your bushy tail
Gray
squirrel, gray squirrel, swish your bushy tail.
Wrinkle
up your funny nose
Hold
a nut between your toes.
Gray
squirrel, gray squirrel, swish your bushy tail.
I'm
a Rabbit
First
person: Ask me if I'm a rabbit.
Second
person: Are you a rabbit?
First:
Yes. Now, ask me if I'm a beaver.
Second:
Are you a beaver?
First:
No, I already told you I was a rabbit!
Little
Bear
(tune:
Frere Jacques)
Are
you sleepy, Are you sleepy
Little
bear, little bear?
Wintertime
is coming,
Wintertime
is coming,
Very
soon, very soon.
Find
a cave, Find a cave,
Little
bear, little bear
Wintertime
is here,
Wintertime
is here,
Go
to sleep, go to sleep.
Are
you sleepy, Are you sleepy
Little
bear, little bear?
You
will wake in springtime
In
the warm, warm springtime
Little
bear, little bear
Time
to wake up,
Time
to wake up
Little
bear, little bear
Springtime
is here,
Springtime
is here
Wake
up now, wake up now!
Movement
Activity
Teddy
Bear, Teddy Bear, turn around,
Teddy
Bear, Teddy Bear, touch the ground,
Teddy
Bear, Teddy Bear, reach up high
Teddy
Bear, Teddy Bear, wink one eye,
Teddy
Bear, Teddy Bear, slap your knees,
Teddy
Bear, Teddy Bear, sit down please.
Sharp-Eyed Beavers
Equipment: five pennies
How to play: Ask your Beavers to leave the room, then hide five pennies
on the floor, on chairs, or beside table legs. Now let your Beavers enter
the room and try to find the coins. When a Beaver finds all five, she must
go to the center of the pond and sit down without telling others where
the coins are hidden.
To Be a Beaver
To be a Beaver it would
seem takes no work at all
But little things like sharing
Make Beavers ten feet tall.
Chorus: Sharing, sharing
Beavers like to share
Helping, helping Beavers
really care.
I like to keep my promise
And help my family
For when I'm nice to people
Then they are nice to me.
If you would like to come
and see Beavers having fun
Come after school and join
us
When all the work is done.
We are (name of colony)
Colony Proud as we can be
Because we work our hardest
To help ecology.
We must help all our furry
friends
Any way we can Protect them
from pollution Give them a helping hand.
There's a Hole in the
Beaver Dam!
There's a hole in the dam,
oh Beaver, oh Beaver! There’s a hole in the dam, oh Beaver, a hole! Then
fix it, oh Beaver, oh Beaver, Then fix it, oh Beaver, oh Beaver, please.
With what shall I fix it, oh Beaver, oh Beaver? With what shall I fix it,
oh Beaver, with what? With sticks, oh Beaver, oh Beaver, With sticks, oh
Beaver, oh Beaver, please. But the sticks are too long, oh Beaver, oh Beaver!
But the sticks are too long, oh Beaver, too long! Then cut them, oh Beaver,
oh Beaver, Then cut them, oh Beaver, oh Beaver, please. With what shall
I cut them, oh Beaver, oh Beaver? With what shall I cut them, oh Beaver,
with what? With your teeth, oh Beaver, oh Beaver, With your teeth, oh Beaver,
oh Beaver, please. The dam is mended, oh Beaver, oh Beaver. The dam is
mended, oh Beaver, oh Beaver, mended. THANK YOU!
The Beavers
Five little Beavers sitting
on a well (cup hands)
One peeped in and down he
fell (raise one finger)
Beavers jumped high (raise
hands and wave above head)
Beavers jumped low (lower
hands to floor)
Beavers jumped everywhere
to and fro. Four little Beavers... etc.
The
Squirrel
Whisky,
frisky,
(move
finger puppet side to side)
Hippity
hop!
(move
puppet up and down as hopping)
Up
he goes
(raise
puppet high in the air and wiggle)
To
the tree top!
Whirly,
twirly,
(move
puppet in small circles)
Round
and round;
Down
he scampers
(lower
puppet, wiggling back and forth)
To
the ground.
Furly,
curly,
(move
in circles, getting larger)
What
a tail!
Tall
as a feather
(extend
in the air)
Broad
as a sail!
(wave
arm back and forth)
Where's
his supper?
(lower
arm and shade eyes)
In
a shell-
(Hold
palm up and curl fingers into a fist)
Snappity,
crackity,
(open
hand,palm up)
Out
it fell!
Woolly
Wolf's Tune
(Tune:
Oh Christmas Tree)
Oh
Woolly Wolf went traveling
She
went to see Wyoming
Oh
Woolly Wolf went traveling
She
went to see Wyoming
She
couldn't fly. She couldn't swim
She
rode a worm and wiggled in.
Oh
Woolly Wolf went traveling
She
wiggled to Wyoming
Oh
Woolly Wolf went traveling
She'd
wave to people and would sing
Oh
Woolly Wolf went traveling
She'd
wave to people and would sing
Come
wiggle with my worm and me
Wyoming
is the place to be
Oh
Woolly Wolf went traveling
She
wiggled to Wyoming.
Who's
Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf
Who
is afraid of the big bad wolf
The
big bad wolf, the big bad wolf
Who's
afraid of the big bad wolf
We are Beavers and We
Know It
Tune: If you're happy
and you know it
We are Beavers and we know
it, We chop wood.
We are Beavers and we know
it, We chop wood.
We are Beavers and we know
it, And we're always glad to show it,
We are Beavers and we know
it, We chop wood.
We are Beavers and we know
it, Slap our tails...
We are Beavers and we know
it, Pack the mud.
We are Beavers and we know
it, We can swim...
We are Beavers and we know
it, We all share…
STORIES:
Have any good stories? Let
us know!
FOOD SUGGESTIONS:
Cinnamon Bear Toast
Make toast, cut into bear
shape and sprinkle cinnamon on them.
Bear Food
Eat honeycomb cereal, or
bake bear shaped cookies let the kids decorate.
Pigs in a Blanket
Make simple pigs in a blanket
by heating up wieners and rolling them in a slice of bread. Pretend to
be wolves eating the pigs.
Squirrel Food
You can be squirrels and
eat nuts, but be careful of any nut allergies the children may have.
TIPS/NOTES:
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