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#306. Teddy Bear Picnic

Mathematics, level: Pre-School
Posted by Tricia Pugh (patricia_pugh@hcboe.hamblen.ten.k12.tn.us).
Hillcrest Elementary School, Morristown, Tennessee
Materials Required: Students bring a Teddy from home
Activity Time: varied
Concepts Taught: sorting, graphing

As a culmination activity for my Teddy Bear Unit, each student brings in their favorite Teddy from home.
All students sit in a circle with their bear in their lap. As a language activity, each child introduces their bear,
tells its name and why it is special. Then I ask them to look at all the bears and think of one way that they can be sorted.
We use two hula hoops for the sorting. For example, one student might say some are big, some are little. Each child puts their
bear inside one hula hoop if it is small, another if it is big. Then we count and decide which group has more, which group has less.
All bears go back to their owner and the children think of new ways to sort, such as: bears with clothes, no clothes; bears with ribbons,
bears without; bears with different colors on their paws, etc., etc. You may want to lay the bears on a large floor graph and
then let the children make individual graphs on paper. As you do this activity you will find lots of ideas will come to mind!
We have a special snack of bread(cut with a teddy bear cookie cutter) and honey, teddy grahams and apple juice. I put a sheet on the floor
for an indoor Teddy Bear Picnic. We read the book Teddy Bear Pinic(Jimmy Kennedy) and watch the video, too! Happy Bear Week!