Goodnight, Bear!

At Storytime today, we read about animals and how they prepare for the cold winter weather. In Time to Sleep by Denise Fleming, Bear sniffed once, then twice, and realized winter was coming. But before he could hibernate, he just needed to go tell a friend. Sleepover with Beatrice and Bear by Mônica Carnesi is about Beatrice, a rabbit, who tries to hibernate with her friend Bear. Do rabbits hibernate? In Hibernation Station by Michelle Meadows, all the animals board a train to go off to hibernate for the winter.
And Sleep, Black Bear, Sleep by Jane Yolen told about many different woodland creatures and how they settle down for a winter's rest.

For our craft, we made paper bag caves for hibernating. They were filled with soft things to lay on and small drawings showing things the hibernating bear might like to have with him, like berries or a blanket. The outsides were colored or embellished with paper trees, cotton snow, and tissue or foam leaves and twigs. 

One of the nice things about the project is that other critters can hibernate once the craft gets home, like small stuffed animals, superhero action figures, even Barbies!