Family Storytime: Hibernation

For this week's storytime, we did a hibernation theme. There were some great books on this theme and it was definitely a fun one.

After our bean bag song, I read Goodnight, Grizzle Grump! by Aaron Blecha. This is a story about a bear who wants to hibernate, but the other animals keep waking him up. The group enjoyed this story and followed along well.

For our first activity, we brought different colored flannel circles/balls to Polar Bear for him to play with while the kids learned their colors. Once everyone had a chance to participate, we counted the balls on the board.

Our next story was A Bed for Bear by Clive McFarland. This is another story about a bear having a hard time sleeping, but because he can't find the perfect hibernating spot. The kids had fun identifying the different animals in the story and they paid attention well.

We danced along to The Wiggles "Rock-a-Bye Your Bear" on The Best of The Wiggles cd and the group really did a great job with the movements.

Our last book was Hibernate with Me by Benjamin Scheuer. This was a cute, short story and a good way to end storytime before they got to the craft.

We made a hibernating bear using construction paper, popsicle sticks, cotton balls, and leaf die-cuts for his triangle cave. I liked how this craft incorporated a triangle shape and used cotton balls for a sensory feel. The group did a good job making their crafts.

Other Books:

A Loud Winter's Nap Katy Hudson

Wide-Awake Bear Pat Zietlow Miller

William's Winter Nap Linda Ashman

Bear Has a Story to Tell Philip C. Stead

Chaucer's First Winter Stephen Krensky

Sleepover with Beatrice and Bear Monica Carnesi

Old Bear Kevin Henkes

Bear Dreams Elisha Cooper

Bedtime for Bear Brett Helquist

Time to Sleep Denise Fleming

Sleep Tight, Little Bear Britta Teckentrup

Hibernation Station Michelle Meadows