Hibernation Unit Study

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As I stated in an earlier blog post, one of the ways we begin each new year is with some type of hibernation unit study.
Hibernation unit studies began when my children were very young.
Just in case you missed this blog post, you can find it here:
https://learningisawayoflife.com/getting-ready-to-hibernate/

I’m going to share with you some of my favorite hibernation unit study ideas from throughout my years of homeschooling and daycare.

We always start by reading books about hibernation. Here are some of my favorites:

Bear Snores On– a perfect book to pop some popcorn and snuggle and read.

Sleep, Black Bear, Sleep

A Loud Winter’s Nap

When It Starts To Snow

The Very Long Sleep
There are so many wonderful books to choose from. I only chose my favorite picture books to include here.
I’d love to hear what your favorites are!

All hibernation unit studies have to include more than just books though!

Dramatic play

Each year, we cover a box with brown paper and call it our “Bear Den” and put it in the corner of the living room. (A couple of years we changed it up and covered it in white paper and made it an igloo). We stuffed it with as many hibernating stuffed animals as we could find, some pillows, blankets, a basket of books, and some flashlights.  This “den” provided for weeks of memorable fun.
Eating peanut butter and honey sandwiches while all crowded inside this den, with only the light of the flashlights, will always be one of my most cherished memories of my children’s younger schooling years.
I’m not sure why, but reading books to them, while all snuggled with stuffed animals, pillows, and blankets and using flashlights made our evening absolutely magical.

Poetry

Because of some of the simple hibernation words, such as bear, sleep, cold, snow, snore, cave, den, nest,  this is a perfect time to introduce rhyming to your children and let them create some really cute poems.
I loved hanging these poems all over the outside of our “Bear Den”.

Poster/collage

What kid doesn’t love ripping and cutting up old magazines? This is a perfect opportunity.
The children can search out magazines and cut out any and all pictures of animals that hibernate.
This, again, can easily be displayed on the walls of the “Bear Den”

Finger Play:

Hibernation Song
Sung to: “Are you sleeping”
Bear is sleeping, bear is sleeping
In the cave, In the cave.
I wonder when he’ll come out.
I wonder when he’ll come out.
In the spring, 
In the spring.

Birds are flying, birds are flying
In the sky, in the sky.
I wonder when they’ll come back,
I wonder when they’ll come back,
In the spring,
In the spring.

Sensory Table:

I love sensory tables! I’ve made a hibernation one for so many years now that I worry the kids will get bored. So far, though, they haven’t!
For the ground covering, I’ve used many items, but my two favorites are rice that I dyed yellow and cotton balls.
Each provides for a different dynamic–arctic vs forest.
Some of the items I like to incorporate, in addition to small hibernating animals are:
Artificial leaves, toilet paper tubes cut in half, wood discs, raffia, pinecones, felt cut into shapes(I usually use brown and cream), a couple of small, ring-sized cardboard boxes, sticks, paper towel tubes, and a bird’s nest or two.

Diorama

I have each child choose a hibernating animal to research.  They then go to the library(or online) and gather as much information as they can, and sketch an idea for a diorama.  We then gather or make the items needed.
I tend to save all the boxes that we receive around Christmas time and they each choose one to use to build their display in.
I really enjoy watching how much effort and thought goes into building these hibernating animal dioramas.

Since I’m such a sucker for field trips, I love to take one winter trip each year to a zoo.
We are able to point out the animals that hibernate and sometimes add another stuffed animal to our “Bear Den” or get inspiration to add to the dioramas.
For any aspiring shutterbugs in your family or group, the zoo is a perfect location to practice shooting different angles and other photography skills.

I hope you are able to use some of these ideas to add some fun to teaching your children about hibernation.

What other fun hibernation unit study ideas do you have?
What are your favorite books on hibernation?
I’d love to hear your thoughts!