Bears, bears, bears! There are so many great books, rhymes, and potential for a storytime about bears! It’s a great theme year round, whether you’re talking about what bears do in the fall to get ready for winter, how they hibernate, waking up in spring, or going on a bear hunt and camping in summer. Let’s take a look at how this storytime went!
Introduction: I introduced the topic and I asked the kids to tell me what they knew about bears. The responses were great! Some kids named the kinds of bears they knew of, some talked about the teeth and fur, and some demonstrated a great big growl!
Opening Song: We always start our storytime with a song that highlights the 5 daily practices that form early literacy skills from Every Child Ready To Read.
Talk, sing, read, write, play!
Talk, sing, read, write, play!
Talk, sing, read, write, play!
Grow a reader everyday!
Sign of the Day: I showed the kids our ASL sign of the day for “bear” (shown below from Lifeprint.com) and we practiced it a few times together and talked about how the sign looked like bear claws before we moved on.
Book: The Bear Ate Your Sandwich by Julia Sarcone-Roach.
The kids LOVED this one and enjoyed correcting the narrator on what the bear was actually doing (such as climbing a lamp post instead of a tree, like the narrator says). They giggled at the ending, realizing maybe there was never a bear at all.
Rhyme: Two Little Black Bears
Two little black bears sitting on a hill,
One named Jack and the other named Jill.
Run away JACK, Run away JILL!
Come back JACK, and come back JILL!
2nd verse: Two little black bears digging in the snow,
One named FAST and the other named SLOW.
3rd verse: Two little black bears, feeling so proud.
One named QUIET and the other named LOUD.
Book: Honey by David Ezra Stein
David Ezra Stein doesn’t get enough credit for his books! I adore them! There’s always a bit of fun, curiosity, and so much relate-able content for the preschoolers. Honey doesn’t disappoint. The kids were at the edge of their seat, ready to say “Honey!” whenever the story called for it.
Song: Where is Bear?
(Tune: Frere Jacques)
Where is bear? Where is Bear?
Here I am! Here I am!
How are you this winter?
Very tired, thank you.
Go to sleep, go to sleep!
For this song, we talked about vocal pitch and how we can play with that. So I asked the kids to use a deep, deep voice for bear’s lines (in blue) and their normal voice for the other lines. To add to the fun, I had a bear puppet that jumped in for his lines and then promptly fell asleep with big snores at the end. I had the kids shout “Wake up, Mr. Bear!” to start over with the song a couple times before letting bear hibernate.
Felt: Our last story of the day was Goldilocks and the Three Bears, a classic that many of the kids knew and delighted in saying some of the key, repetitive lines with me. While I normally like to use house-made felt pieces, I was in a bit of a rush and had to lean on some velcro puppets we had from Constructive Playthings. Still did the trick!
Closing: We reviewed our ASL sign of the day one more time before singing our goodbye song.
Tickle the Clouds
Tickle the clouds,
Tickle your toes!
Turn around and tickle your nose.
Reach down low,
Reach up high!
Storytime’s over,
Wave goodbye!
Other Titles to Check Out:
- Where’s My Teddy by Jez Alborough
- Horrible Bear! by Ame Dyckman
- We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen
- Mama’s Little Bears by Nancy Tafuri
- Bear Sees Color by Karma Wilson
- Polar Bear’s Underwear by Tupera Tupera
- Mother Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins
- A Bear Sat on My Porch Today by Jane Yolen
Librarian Ginny 