My Preschool Turn--Bears!

Today was my turn to teach the little mom-run preschool group I'm a part of.  I love teaching these little ones! They are so fun! And we were having such a good time that I didn't get many pictures taken. 

The theme for the month is Fairy Tales and since there are five girls but one boy I didn't want to do anything too over the top princessy. So, I chose Goldilocks and the Three Bears for a theme. And it's kind of odd that it's considered a fairy tale, right?

I asked the moms to have their child bring a teddy bear with them and while we waited for the last little girl to show up, I turned on the song Pots and Pans on the CD Dog Train (anyone else in love with Sandra Boynton's CDs?) so they could dance with their bears. We boogied for a bit and then we sat down and we lined the bears up in relation to their size.

Next I told them the story of Goldilocks with their help. Then we read the book Dusty Locks and the Three Bears, a cute western retelling of the story. Then it was time for some free play time.

I had gotten out our box of play food and a couple registers and I encouraged them to make some food for their bears or play store. It's cute to hear them playing with each other and their sweet little conversations.

Then we made these fun peanut butter bear cookies together....(please ignore my stained pan :)

Peanut Butter Teddies
(recipe found Here)

Ingredients

• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 72 miniature semisweet chocolate chips (about 2 teaspoons)

Directions

• In a large bowl, beat the milk, peanut butter, vanilla and egg until smooth. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; add to peanut butter mixture and mix well.
• For each pear, shape the dough into one 1-in. ball, one 3/4-in. ball, six 1/2-in. balls and one 1/4-in. ball. On an ungreased baking sheet, slightly flatten the 1-in. ball to form the body. Place the 3/4-in. ball above body for head. For limbs, place four 1/2-in. balls next to the body.
• For nose, place the 1/4-in. ball in the center of the heat. Add two chocolate chips for eyes and one chip for belly button. Bake at 350° for 6-8 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets. Yield: 2 dozen.

As these cooked I tried to teach the little ones step by step how to draw a teddy bear using circles. This was interesting. Some of them waited to follow the instructions. And some of them couldn't wait and jumped ahead. And some needed extra encouragement. They are so wonderfully different! I love it. 

Here's how mine and  Zoe's pictures ended up...

Then as we waited for our cookies to cool off we read another book, one of my favorites, We're Going on a Bear Hunt. We added actions as the family had to go Through everything and it was great fun.

Then it was time to munch up our cookies. There was much silliness and laughter as we talked about eating their ears and heads and bellies.

We also talked about the differences between real bears and bears in the story (for example real bears do not wear boots or live in a cabin). And we did the little Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear rhyme....

Teddy Bear Teddy Bear turn around
Teddy Bear Teddy Bear touch the ground
Teddy Bear Teddy Bear climb the stairs
Teddy Bear Teddy Bear say your prayers
Teddy Bear Teddy Bear turn out the light
Teddy Bear Teddy Bear say good night!

I have such a great time with these little ones and I'm grateful Zoe and I are a part of this preschool group. I debated whether I'd have time for it this year. I'm always being pulled in a hundred different directions and I often just want to say NO when new opportunties come up. But I'm really really happy we've done this. I've loved watching Zoe interact with the other kids. Not to mention that I also get a few hours mostly to myself every week when it's not my turn (I have the wee baby with me, of course, but she doesn't talk, yet, so I get some quiet time!)