20 Hibernation-Themed Activities and Crafts for Preschoolers
The idea of sleeping through the winter probably sounds tempting to many, but preschoolers are downright fascinated by the concept! That’s why Preschool with a Purpose has dedicated a week of themed instruction to hibernating animals. Below are more than 20 engaging activities and creative crafts to go along with preschool lessons on hibernation.
Life Lessons
Who knew animals gearing up for hibernation could teach important life lessons to preschoolers? For example, the way bears wind down for winter is similar to how children learn self-regulation skills to calm themselves. Read Denise Fleming’s book about hibernating animals, Time to Sleep, in conjunction with an introduction to relaxing stretches for kids. As they stretch, children can pretend to be sleepy bears or skunks or snails getting ready for their long winter’s nap. These same stretches can be applied in times of stress to help kids regulate their emotions. Parents and caregivers will appreciate that little ones are learning new tools to calm themselves, especially at bedtime.
Are your preschoolers obsessed with animals that hibernate? Inspire their curiosity about hibernating animals with this free “Hibernation Investigation” activity from Preschool With a Purpose! Download this activity for free!
A second method of hibernation-inspired stress relief is a bear-themed brain break. Brain breaks encourage kids to move their bodies and turn off their minds for a little while. They are fantastic exercises to shake off stress, prepare for a big event, or simply take a break from learning.
The relationship between physical activity and food intake is another life lesson hibernating animals teach children. When preparing the body for an arduous task, like hibernation, it’s very important to feed it healthy foods. The National Library of Medicine credits Food-based Learning, which is using “food as a teaching tool in the classroom,” for “improving children’s willingness to try and consume healthy foods.” Because Food-based Learning takes place outside of scheduled mealtimes, it is a low-pressure environment prime for learning. Kids will love it because they’re encouraged to play with their food!
Literacy Lessons
The hibernating letters activity practices matching upper- and lowercase letters. Turn black paper cups into caves by turning them upside down and cutting an opening into the side. Print a capital letter on the bottom of each cup. Children then place lowercase letter manipulatives (magnets, cutouts, etc.) inside their uppercase equivalents’ caves. Hibernation: complete!
A similar version of a letter matching activity uses sleepy bear letters. Students pair the bears with their respective caves, effectively putting them to bed for the winter.
Rhymes are great for reinforcing sounds and patterns of letters and words. Practice phonemic awareness with the book Hibernation Station. Kids can then create their own hibernation station with a paper plate craft.
Encourage your preschoolers to make their own emergent reader hibernation book. Best printed on hardy cardstock, this simple book includes several different hibernating animals along with their pictures and names. Kids can color and personalize their books.
Arts & Crafts Lessons
Sung to the tune of Do You Know the Muffin Man?, children croon about different animals that hibernate. With so many materials focused on bears, this song is a great reminder that other animals hibernate, too.
To follow up the song, and to include some dramatic play, print these hibernating animal puppets and let the kids’ imagination run wild!
Handprints and crafts continue to be a winning combination in preschool classrooms. This handprint bear is sweet as is but can be customized for a hibernation lesson by painting his eyes closed and his surroundings a wintery scene.
These paper bag skunks are adorable and guaranteed to smell a lot better than the real thing! Teacher tip: Download the free template here.
Gather fallen pinecones for this super cheap and super cute hedgehog craft. The children can help make the homemade salt dough in a separate lesson or it can be made ahead of time for the hedgehogs.
Math & Science Lessons
The bear cave count is done similarly to the hibernating letters activity above, but children view it more like a game. Students roll a die, find the matching number cave, and place the matching number of bears in the cave. Doesn’t feel like learning when they’re playing!
Create an entire math (or literacy) center with this downloadable Hibernation Center kit. It covers math skills like counting, number identification, and sorting and pairs well with many of the previously mentioned activities.
Visit the Conservation Institute’s webpage to read about ten different animals that hibernate. Then challenge the children to remember which animals do and do not hibernate with this colorful sorting game.
This Science for Little Learners Winter Animals kit has everything a teacher needs to turn preschoolers into junior scientists. Kids will learn about hibernating animals’ favorite hiding spots, what it means to adapt to the winter months, and how and where those sleepy creatures store their food. Then, see if children can get Mr. Bear to his den in time with this hibernation maze.
Still looking for more ideas and inspiration? Check out this short video walk-through of Calming Childcare’s hibernation unit. She even shares a bunch of her free downloads and resources.
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About the Author:
Stephanie Jankowski is an educator and author who lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. When she's not teaching or writing, she's spending time with her children, Brady, Ella, and Lyla, and marveling at just how short the years really are.