Hibernating Bears

Today is the first day of school after a long Winter break! I was so excited to see the kids, but I was also expecting a little bit of chaos since they have been away from structures and routines for such a long time. But...they surprised me! They still remember to say please and thank you, and was awesome during circle time. (although it's kind of a special case because only half of the preschoolers are here in the afternoon!)

This week is "hibernation week", and I'm going to talk to the kids about animals that hibernate in Winter. I started off with teaching them this song:

Hibernation Song

The weather's getting cold so bundle up, bundle up, bundle up
The weather's getting cold so bundle up, it’s winter time.
The bears in the cave sleep all the time............it’s winter time.
The squirrels in the trees get lots of nuts...............it’s winter time.
The frogs and toads go deep in mud.......it’s winter time.
The snakes in the rocks are curling up………it’s winter time.
The people in the town wear hats and gloves..........it’s winter time.

It's amazing to hear them catching the melody and repeating the words after me after a few repetition. They learn so fast!

After singing, I read them Robert Munsch's "50 Below Zero". Again, I didn't notice that I miss read-aloud so much! They were paying attention, connecting with the story emotionally, they were such good listeners...And I didn't have to raise my voice up even once today!

We discussed about the story as I read along, and then I showed them the craft that we're going to make today. It's a hibernating bear in the cave. I showed them how to move the stick in and out, and told them that in Winter, the bear hibernates inside the cave, and in Spring, it wakes up and comes out of the cave. I did it a couple of times and asked them to say "good morning" and "goodnight" to the bear. Then I asked them what they say to their parents after they wake up and before they go to bed. I reminded them to say good morning and goodnight everyday, because it is a good habit. It's so funny when I asked, "When the bear goes into the cave to sleep, what do you say to him?" and Daniel said, "Goodbye!" Sooo cute~

I was also surprised when we were talking about Winter, and Jonah said, "I do this (sticking out his tongue) to eat snow!" About a month ago, I asked them if they've ever tasted snow like this before, and they said no. Jonah remembers. ^^ So I asked him, "Do you like it?" and he said, "Yeah! It tastes pretty good!"