When the weather starts getting cold, and snow starts falling, it’s definitely that time of the year again. Yes, that’s right — it’s hibernation season!
If you’re thinking of excellent ways to introduce hibernation to your curious preschoolers, we have got you covered! Here are some interesting activities to make it extra engaging and entertaining for young ones.
Great Hibernation Activities for Preschoolers
One of the classics that will never get old with kids is reading. It’s great because there is always a wide selection of books on every topic you can ever think of! On top of that, it also develops a lot of skills for your preschoolers — reading, language, comprehension, visual imagery, object recognition, and a whole lot more, depending on each book.
Reading, especially storybooks and picture books, is always a great way to introduce various lessons to kids. You can start by asking if they are familiar with what hibernation is, then hear their ideas about it. You can either read it aloud or altogether, depending on the book’s difficulty. Make sure to ask a few questions, and incorporate a fun and relevant activity after reading.
Materials Needed:
- Hibernation-Relevant Books
- Activity Sheets
Looking for the perfect hibernation book? You can visit educationoutside.org for lots of awesome recommendations!
Your active preschoolers will surely find this activity cute and fun! It may not seem like it, but a lot of learning can take place through play. Let kids pretend to be a hibernating bear. This winter dramatic play will require quite some work from you, but it’ll surely be worth it once you see their huge smiles.
You can start by creating the bear’s den by covering a huge box with colored paper. Decorate it as desired. Next, add some fiberfill on top to mimic snow. You may also display some real bear photos and have a few bear picture books nearby. Put the huge teddy bear inside, along with some small stuffed animals, and you’re done! Now all that’s left is to let the kids play around and have fun!
Materials Needed:
- Huge Teddy Bear
- Small Stuffed Animals
- Huge Box
- Colored Paper
- Scissors
- Glue
- Fiberfill
- Real Bear Photos
- Bear Picture Books
Loved this activity? Check out teaching2and3yearolds.com and learn a whole lot more!
This activity is a great icebreaker before starting your lessons on hibernation, as it showcases hibernating animal figures and other relevant objects. Sensory play also develops a lot of skills as it encourages your kids to learn through exploration, curiosity, problem-solving, and creativity. Plus, they’re super-duper fun and engaging, too!
This sensory bin is very easy to make, as well. First, gather all the materials you will include in your sensory bin.
To add some touch of literacy, write a letter on each of the small rocks you will include. Put in some plastic scoops and jars as well, then let the children enjoy it and do their thing!
Materials Needed:
- Brown Beans
- DIY Letter Rocks
- Glass gems (to mimic ice)
- Cotton Balls (to mimic snow)
- Animal Figures
- Plastic Scoops
- Plastic Jars
Can’t wait to try it out with the little ones? Discover more about this cool activity and a whole lot more at pocketofpreschool.com.
This activity is very simple and can be easily done at any time both at home and in the classroom.
Are you familiar with the expression “don’t poke the bear”, which means to prevent making someone angry? The Don’t Poke the Bear Game focuses exactly on that aspect. It will help you teach your little ones an important life skill, which is anger management, and how they can calm their bodies.
You can simply invite your child to pretend that they are a sleeping bear. Then, have their partner (could be a classmate, friend, or you) tap them on their shoulders to wake them up. The bear wakes up angry. Ask them for their ideas on ways to manage feelings of anger, then, discuss some methods together. Afterwards, switch roles and continue waking the bear with new emotions!
Looking for more activities like this one? Visit stayathomeeducator.com and learn tons of fun activities!
This sorting activity is perfect as a follow-up activity after a short discussion on hibernation. On top of that, it’s also an excellent way to further hone your preschoolers’ numeracy, early literacy, categorization, and fine motor skills. A great number of skills in one simple activity, isn’t it?
First, print the sorting mats along with the animal pictures and prepare them beforehand. Then in class, proceed with your hibernation discussion as usual. Talk about how some specific animals hibernate in winter.
After your discussion, you can use this activity to assess what they’ve just learned. Ask them to separate the hibernating animals from the non-hibernating ones. Then let them put the animals in their respective sorting mat category.
Materials Needed:
- 2 Sorting Mats (for hibernating and non-hibernating)
- 12 Animal Pictures
- Crayons (or other coloring materials)
You may check out teacherspayteachers.com for more details about this fun interactive activity.
Looking for another great and engaging activity perfect for the winter season? This cute den craft might be perfect for you! It is a fun way to familiarize your preschoolers with arctic animals and learn about hibernation. You need to prepare a few things, but the result is definitely worth it!
Start off by preparing the marshmallows and toothpicks in a few bowls and putting them on a table. Then, place the arctic animal figures beside the marshmallows. While doing so, you can start introducing the said animals and their habitats to the kids.
Afterward, instruct the kids to create their own animal dens through the use of marshmallows and toothpicks. Once they’ve finished, display their work for everyone to see!
Materials Needed:
- Large Marshmallows
- Small Marshmallows
- Flat Toothpicks
- Arctic Animal Figures
Want to know more about this cool activity? Go and visit fun-a-day.com for more details.
Squirrels are a preschool-favorite example of cold weather animals. Hence, this activity is a great way to introduce your lesson on hibernation and hibernating animals. It’s simple and easy to make, even for your little artists!
Start off by cutting out a third of the toilet paper roll and covering that piece in acrylic color. Next, cut out one bold color paper stripe and gently roll it to form a curl. It will serve as the tail. Then, make two tiny hands and a heart-like shape that will serve as legs.
Draw the eyes by using a ruler with circle shapes and a black liner. Cut out the eye shapes and glue them on the toilet paper roll. Draw the squirrel’s nose and mouth. Finally, attach the hands, legs, ears, and tail to the body. Paint the ears with the same acrylic color as the body, and you’re done!
Materials Needed:
- Toilet Paper Roll
- Scissors
- Glue
- Acrylic Color
- Color Paper (cardstock)
- White Cardstock
- Black Liner
- Ruler (with circle shapes)
- Brush
You can check out easypeasyandfun.com for more information about this cute craft. Or, may also browse more from our list of squirrel crafts for preschoolers.
Your preschoolers will surely find this paper plate bat craft adorable and exciting! It’s a great way to showcase their creativity and help develop their fine motor skills, too.
Begin by drawing a zigzag line down the center of one paper plate. Then, cut along the line so the paper plate is in two pieces. These will be the bat wings.
Next, take the other paper plate and glue one wing on each side. Let the glue dry and paint the paper plates black. Once the paint dries, add the bat ears. You can make them by cutting out two triangle pieces out of black cardstock.
Finally, add two googly eyes in the center and draw a mouth using a white crayon, chalk, or marker. Viola, all done!
Materials Needed:
- Small Paper Plates
- Black Paint
- Paint Brush
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Glue
- Black Card Stock
- Googly Eyes
- White Crayon, Chalk, or Marker
You can visit abcsofliteracy.com to know more about this craft. Also, check out more bat crafts for preschoolers here!
This cute activity is a perfect follow-up activity after reading your hibernation books with cute hedgehog characters. To start, have the kids trace their hand prints on two shades of brown paper. You can stack the paper so you can cut out many hand prints at a time. Next, fan the handprints out and staple them together.
Afterwards, have them roll a piece of paper into a cone, trim the edges, and tape the cone in place. Add the googly eyes along with the brown pom-pom to serve as the nose. Finally, take red felt and a red pom-pom to make a hat and fit your little hedgehog in it. Quick and easy, right?
Materials Needed:
- Two Shades of Brown Paper
- Pencil
- Stapler
- Brown Pom-Pom
- Two Googly Eyes
- Red Felt
- Red Pom-Pom
Discover more about this awesome activity and a whole lot more at fantasticfunandlearning.com.
Here is yet another activity to keep your preschoolers engaged with your lessons on hibernation. On top of that, you can even integrate it with your math class — two birds with one stone!
The printables will greatly help develop your little ones’ counting, numerical recognition, patterning, graphing, fine motor, and tons of other skills.
All you have to do is print the different work and activity sheets and laminate them. You’ll have to prepare a few additional materials for some of the activities, too.
After everything is ready, all that’s left is guiding the kids as they work on each activity. There will be lots of activities and games! Sounds fun, doesn’t it?
Materials Needed:
- Hibernating Animals Math Printables
- Small manipulatives (unifix cubes or similar for the board games)
- Bingo Dot Markers or Crayons
- Playdough
- Scissors
- Laminating film
- Tape
- Stapler
Looking for further details about the printables? Go and check out pre-kpages.com to learn more.
Conclusion
Cold seasons can make everyone, including your preschoolers, feel a bit sluggish. Luckily, teaching them about hibernation and hibernating animals doesn’t have to be boring!
Hopefully, our list has been helpful in making your lessons on hibernation even more fun and exciting. Thank you for stopping by! Visit again for more awesome activities for your little ones.
