Books
Well, you can't read about teddy bears without mentioning these two:
978-052-546-7267 (HC)
978-014-050-1735 (PB)
Extension ideas: what special toys do you have? Write or act out stories in which they have adventures of their own!
Do you know how to sew on a button? Fix a simple tear or hem? These are very easy skills for young children to learn, and they can give a huge sense of accomplishment!
Do you have a button box or jar? That can be great for sorting or patterns, as well as fun art projects.
Another old favorite:
978-076-369-8713
"Eddy’s lost his teddy, Freddy, so he goes off into the woods in search of the missing bear. The dark, horrible woods hold a gigantic surprise for Eddy, who discovers his teddy bear has grown much too big to cuddle. Could it be a case of mistaken identity?"
This is one of my favorite read-alouds! There are a couple sequels where the boy and the bear become friends. More story ideas, there!
A more recent title:
9780763675370
"Have you ever wondered what stuffed animals do while their companion humans are at school? What if a teddy bear invited all his stuffed animal friends over? Imagine the wild party that might ensue, complete with jumping (a little too hard) on the bed, coloring on the walls, dressing up in Mom’s clothes, having a bubble-bath sliding contest in the hall, sledding down a “cushion mountain” on a cookie tray. . ."
Adorable hijinks - and don't miss her second title, I'm Afraid Your Teddy Is in the Principal's Office!
Art
In addition to the above-mentioned button art, there are millions of teddy bear crafts to be found online - puppets, paper plate bears, etc. We like process art and trying things in new ways, so we went with this fuzzy fork painting:
Start with a good-sized glob of brown paint in the middle of your paper, then use a plastic fork to spread it all out (go from the inside out).
Add some googly eyes, ears, and nose.
But wait, bears aren't always brown, are they? try black, reddish brown, white (on black paper), or...
Whatever colors you like!
Science
Well, of course we are going to study bears! Your library will probably not have the same titles we do, so we won't get too specific, but look in Dewey # 599.78. If you want an online source, you can't go too wrong with National Geographic Kids. How many types of bears can you name? Let's make a chart! What are some things you can find out about each type of bear? (size, life span, location, what else?)
Social Studies
There are many picture books about the origin of the "Teddy" bear, such as this one:
978-177-138-7958
You can read a few versions and see if they give slightly differing accounts (why does that happen?), then compare with this NPS article (video included!)
Cooking
Spruce up peanut butter toast with banana slice ears and nose, and blueberry eyes for a yummy snack! What other finger foods can you use to make a bear face? (Cucumber slices? Strips of bell peppers? Bagels or English muffins?)
What would a bear snack on? (Answer: pretty much anything!) Bears, like us, are omnivores. Make a meal of things a bear in your area might find to munch on in the wild. (Well...maybe not raw critters...but local fruits and nuts are good!)
Don't forget the sweet stuff! Bears really do like a honey treat. What are some things you can use honey to sweeten rather than sugar? Are there any local beekeepers you can get some honey from? While you are at it, ask them how they protect their hives from local scavengers! That can lead to a whole discussion of bears getting into trash or dog food, hazards of human wildlife interaction...boy, we really got off the subject of cooking, didn't we? But here is always more to explore when you find a topic kids are interested in!
Speaking of which, here are a few
Links:
https://www.cbc.ca/kidscbc2/the-feed/teddy-bear-day-an-official-day-for-your-best-stuffed-pal
https://www.rd.com/list/teddy-bear-facts/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zrpw92p
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