Smokey the Bear

Smokey the Bear turns 75 on August 9, 2019!! We wanted to celebrate with some fun preschool activities. *A lot of these activities you can use again on B is for Bear day or F is for Fire day.

• Smokey the Bear size match
1. I made some Smokey the Bear stickers - big, medium and small - with my Silhouette Machine and sticker paper (or you can find some fancy, bigger ones here - these are just one size).
2. Make a simple page with different size fires - big, medium, and small
3. Have your child match and cover the small fires with the small Smokey the Bear stickers, the medium fires with the medium stickers, etc.

• Pretend play - putting fires out
1. Use chalk on a sidewalk, driveway, fence or somewhere else to draw little fires.
2. Use a squirt bottle or water gun to “put out” the fires
3. More advanced, tell your preschooler to put out the “pink” fire, or put out the fire above the F (you will have to use different colors and/or add letters for this game)

• Dress up like Smokey the Bear
1. There’s not a lot to Smokey’s outfit…my girls had to add a little extra in fact (a t-shirt, as he doesn’t wear one!). His outfit includes:
• jeans
• a ranger hat, or similar hat, with 'SMOKEY' on it
• a belt, with 'SMOKEY' on it
• a shovel
• bear (or bare 😉) feet!
2. Dressed up as Smokey, have them say out loud Smokey’s slogan – “Only YOU can prevent wildfires”!

• Make a campfire 

1. Talk about fire safety. 
• *If you know a cub scout, or have one in your family like we do, have them pass off one of their requirements and talk about fire safety.
2. Enjoy the campfire. Roast hot dogs and marshmallows while practicing good fire safety!
3. Put the fire out like Smokey has taught: using water, then a shovel, then more water

• Visit your local Forest Service
1. Or look here for local events happening to celebrate Smokey the Bear’s birthday.
2. High-five and take a picture with Smokey, if you can find him!\

• Go on a hike!! Enjoy the forest, and see if you can spot any Smokey signs!

• Look at forest fire pictures and talk about the facts
1. I was a wildland firefighter for two summers and I have some pretty neat videos of forest fires. Google 'wild land fires' and learn about wildland firefighters. 
2. Talk about how 89% of wildfires in 2018 were caused by humans (source: nifc.gov)
3. Once more, reiterate how important fire safety is!

• Smokey the Bear website activities
1. Make a coloring page
2. Make up a story with Smokey
3. Play Ask Smokey

Happy Birthday Smokey!!

B is for Bears

 

• Turn into a Bear! … we used a little Halloween makeup to turn into Bears for the day
  1. Use black Halloween makeup to make a black nose and line down to the mouth.
  2. Cut out a pair of brown ears (we used cardboard). Color the inside a darker brown.
  3. Tape to a headband.

• Read “Bare Bear” by Miriam Moss … a cute rhyming book about a bear whose clothes are blown from the clothesline. He goes searching for them and meets several fairy tale characters along the way. Book available here.

• Read “Found” by Salina Yoon … I wasn’t planning on reading this book, but my 4-year-old noticed the bear on the front and asked to read it. Turns out this book is really cute. Available here.

• Do ‘B’ journal page
  1. Write ‘Bb’ on the next blank page.
  2. Write “BEAR” on the page … I show my 4-year-old the word “bear” on the cover of one of our books and she copies the letters.
  3. Draw a bear!
  4. Add bear stickers. We used bear paw stickers that I found at Michaels.

Gummy Bear Song (To the tune: Five Little Ducks) Down at the candy shop, what did I see? Five little gummy bears looking at me. Along came (child’s name) with a penny one day. She bought the (color) one and took it away. Down at the candy shop, what did I see? Four little gummy bears looking at me … (repeat until all the gummy bears are gone!)

• Gummy Bear Song & Game
  1. Pick out several gummy bears … all different colors.
  2. Give your preschooler the same number of pennies.
  3. Sing the song (above) and have your preschooler choose a gummy bear and “pay for it” with one penny.

 

• Gummy Bear Color Sorting
  1. Print this free ‘B’ colors sorting page here.
  2. Give your preschooler a small bowl of gummy bears.
  3. Help them sort their gummy bears onto the matching colored ‘B’
  4. Ask questions:
     • Which color has the most gummy bears?
     • Which color has the least gummy bears?
     • How many gummy bears are on the blue B?
     • Which color is your favorite?

 

• Make Circle Bears … detailed instructions on last year’s post here.
  1. PREP: Cut out all of the circles needed ahead of time. I traced around a plate, small bowl, cup and small lid to get my circles.
  2. My 4-year-old asked to help cut the circles out! She did a great job!
  3. Use a glue stick to make your circle bear.
  4. Use words like large, medium, small, dark brown, light brown as you work together!
  5. Write a large B on the tummy.
  6. The pictures show the difference between my 2-year-old and my 4-year-old. I love them both!

• Make a Bear Snack … it’s always easier to make snacks myself, BUT the kids love to help and it’s great practice for them! If I’m feeling patient and we’re not in a hurry, I try to let them help out.
  1. Spread a piece of bread with Nutella or peanut butter.
  2. Slice a banana. Use them for the eyes, muzzle, and ears.
  3. Add a raisin (we used chocolate-covered raisins) for the eyes.

B is for Bear {Goldilocks and the 3 Bears}

• Read “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” … this is one of my very favorite versions. I love Caralyn & Mark Buehner’s books. The details in the pictures are a lot of fun too.

• Gummy Bears & Sizes
  1. Print out this Goldilocks & the Three Bears size page.
  2. Grab a handful of gummy bears or teddy grahams (nine to be exact).
  3. As you read the story and the bears come back home, place a gummy bear on each item they observe:
     • the big, medium & small bowls of porridge
     • the big, medium & small chairs
     • the big, medium & small beds

 

• Find Goldilocks
  1. Just for fun, dress up like a bear. VERY SIMPLE. My 3-year-old has been eyeing the Halloween face paint, so we painted her nose black. Add a couple of brown paper ears to a headband and you have a bear
  2. Hide Goldilocks somewhere in the room.
     • I printed out a picture from the book, laminated it & attached a popsicle stick.
     • You could also hide a doll or print and cut out a cute Goldilocks clipart here.
  3. Have your little “bear” look for Goldilocks.

• Sorting Circles Sizes … sort circles, then use them for the next activity!
  1. Using different shades of brown, cut out the following circles.
     • 1 large dark brown circle
     • 1 medium dark brown circle, 1 medium medium-dark brown circle
     • 6 small dark brown circles, 1 medium-dark brown circle
     • 3 extra small black circles, 9 light brown circles
     • TIP: I used a plate, bowl, cup and glue cap to trace around the different circle sizes.
  2. Help the kids sort the circles into similar sizes.
  3. Use words like big, biggest, large, medium, small, smallest, etc.

• Build a Bear
  1. Using the sorted circles and a glue stick, help the kids put together their own brown bear.
  2. I showed my preschooler a picture of a finished bear to look at while we worked.
  3. She used the glue stick on her own to add the circles.
  4. Write a large letter B on his tummy. We practiced write ‘B’ a few times with several different crayons.

• Finger Paint a Brown Bear
  1. Print out this great bear outline at Twisty Noodle. I love that you can customize the text on the page.
  2. Trace the letters.
  3. Use brown paint to finger paint the bear!

• Make Porridge for Lunch … if you look closely in the Buehner’s book, you’ll see a canister of oatmeal (porridge) on the counter
  1. Make a batch of oatmeal. My 3-year-old helped measure and add the water and oatmeal.
  2. Add your favorite toppings. We sprinkled brown sugar and blueberries on top.
  3. We also used a Papa-sized, Mama-sized, and Wee-Bear-sized bowls.

B is for Bears (Book Scavenger Hunt)

We’ve done lots of different books for bears. But I think I liked today’s BEAR preschool the best of all. It was simple, fun, the kids really enjoyed it, and we got to read lots of good books!

• Read “We're Going on a Bear Hunt” by Michael Rosen & Helen Oxenbury

• Preschool Journal B Page … I’m really liking these journal pages. They’re quick, but we get writing practice every day and the stickers and drawings are a fun reminder of each of our days.
  1. Practice writing letter Bb and “Bear”
  2. Put bear stickers on the page.

• Gummy Bear Song … my kids loved this, so fun! Of course, we had to do it several times since there were gummy bears involved. Original idea here.
  1. Set out 5 gummy bears of different colors.
  2. Give the kids 5 pennies (total)
  3. Sing the rhyme & take turns buying (and eating) a gummy bear!

• Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear Rhyme … a great get-up-and-wiggle rhyme

  Teddy bear, teddy bear, turn around. Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch the ground. Teddy bear, teddy bear, up on tiptoes. Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch your nose. Teddy bear, teddy bear, walk with me. Teddy bear, teddy bear, bend your knee. Teddy bear, teddy bear, hop around, Teddy bear, teddy bear, sit on the ground.

• Going on a Bear Hunt … this was the highlight of our bear day. A relaxed bear hunt with lots of stories along the way … and yummy snacks!
  1. Cut out several brown bear paws. I just drew a simple paw on brown paper.
  2. Write a clue on each paw.
  3. Pull several bear-themed books out of your bookshelf (or from the library!) These are just the ones we had on hand.
  4. I put a little bear snack with each book and clue. The kids munched on their snack while I read a bear book or two. Our clues & snacks:
     • Look on mom’s bed (no snack)
     • Look in the garage (gummy bears)
     • Look under a blanket in your room (teddy grahams)
     • Look on the slide fort (bananas … starts with B!)
     • Look under the kitchen table (chocolate pudding)
     • Look in the bathtub (that’s where our bear was hiding with a special treat)
     • NOTE: you could also make blueberry muffins!
  5. We followed the paws until we found our stuffed bear holding the kids treat. A cute bag of gummy bears that said, “You’re a Beary Good Reader” … I found the idea and free printable here.