Bear Stays Up for Christmas

After reading Bear Stays Up for Christmas, we played one of our favorite games- 

"Grizzly Bear"!

One of us was the bear 

(we took turns playing this part). 

The rest of us picked characters from the book to portray- Mouse, Hare, Badger, Raven, Wren, Mole and Gopher. We each have chosen our favorite characters from these charming books.

Gopher

Mouse, Mole and Hare

Wren and Raven

Badger

As our chosen "Bear" slept in his/her cave,

the rest of us quietly sneaked up on "Bear" and then proceeded to wake him/her.

Surprised by the rude awakening, "Bear" chased the rest of us back to the start.

As we played, we sang:

Grizzly bear, oh grizzly bear 

is sleeping in his/her cave. 

Please be very quiet.

Very, very quiet.

If you wake him/her.

If you shake him/her.

He'll/She'll get very mad.

We played and dramatized over and over again, taking on new "parts" each time. 

Bear Snores On

Bear Snores On reminded us that some animals sleep all through the long, cold winter months... they hibernate. Or, as in the case of "Bear" in our book, they try to. 

We went on a bear hunt to search for bear. We maneuvered through mud, sticks and tall grass, swam through a lake, climbed up a mountain and back down again, and went into a dark, dark cave where we came face to face with sleeping "Bear"! We found Mouse, Hare, Badger, Mole, Gopher, Raven and Wren in the cave, but when bear woke up, we ran back home as fast as we could!

We had a bear cave in which to play. We took on roles as mommy and daddy bears and their cubs. 

Did you ever see such cute little bears?