All Bears Need Love

Front CoverBack Cover

 Last week was Teddy Bear Day at preschool. I won this book a few weeks ago. It will be incorporated into Teddy Bear day year after year.

What a powerful message for young children to hear.

The students brought a bear to school. It accompanied them around the room all day. At circle time, we counted, sorted and classified them. I showed them my bear who had bandages on his arm, a Band aid  on his cheek, and gauze on his leg. I placed him in a small chair next to me and demonstrated what happens when a bear, or a boy or girl are not strapped into their car seat or seat belt. I told them a trash truck stopped in front of me and I had to stop quickly. I demonstrated how Billy Bear hit the dash, the window and the floor and got lots of boo-boos. Next, I strapped him with an elastic belt and buckled him up. I "stopped" really quickly and Billy stayed in his seat. We talked about riding safely in a car. We sang the buckle up song.

 

We did floor exercises with our bears, lifted them with only our ankles squeezed together. We did the Bear Hokey Pokey, and we marched to music with our bears.

 

I read, Who Wants an Old Teddy Bear, Anyway?! It is a story about a boy who wanted a rocket ship for his birthday from his grandma. Instead he opened his package to find a teddy bear. He kicked it and yelled, "Who wants an old Teddy bear, anyway?!" That night he dreamed he went to Teddy Bear Land. A grandma bear was so thrilled to find a little boy, she mailed him to her grandson bear for his birthday. The bear wanted a train and was upset to find the boy, and yelled, "Who wants a boy, anyway?!" They became friends...in the boy's dream, and when he awoke he found the Teddy bear from his grandma in bed with him.  The children acted out the book. They tossed their Teddy bears and shouted...next they kicked their bears high in the air and shouted, "Who wants an old bear, anyway?!" The kids laughed themselves silly. Next, we bounced the bears one at a time on a bed sheet.

 

Before snack time I read, Teddy Bear Picnic. The little boy was afraid of bears in the woods when his mama took him on a picnic. She forgot a pie in the car and told him to wait by the picnic basket. A bear came along, and the boy hides inside the picnic basket. The bear sat down on the basket. The story is cute as can be, and you can see the students' emotions go from fear to funny as the bear jumped up and snatched the blueberry pie and ran away.

 

We colored a large paper tablecloth at the table. Then I piled several toy food items on the table cloth and took one away. They had to guess which healthy food item was missing each time. At the conclusion, we ate...what else, Teddy Grahams.

 

Tanya Valentine's book, All Bears Need Love, based on the adoption of her son, is heart warming. My students loved it! You might have someone in mind who would enjoy, too.