Why bears?
A teddy bear is a type of toy that looks like a bear, normally a cub or baby bear. Teddy bears are found all over the world. In Russia, bears were used as children’s toys for many years before they became popular in the United States. The teddy bear in Russia has been the subject of folklore or stories for many years. Teddy bears are often toys for children, but they are also used to comfort people or show love and affection. Teddy bears may often have human-like features, and they are usually small and soft. Early-twentieth-century teddy bears were made from mohair, the hair of goats. Now they are usually made from synthetic fabrics.
The teddy bear is often a theme or topic in early years classrooms, and they have been found to comfort and support children. The teddy bear can also be also used to teach children about different places. In a story, the bear can travel and send postcards to the readers, a theme exemplified by the story of Paddington Bear and his adventures with the Brown family. There are books, films, games, songs and a wealth of other material built around bears. Teddy-bear books help children learn to read and also hold fond memories for parents and grandparents.
Thanks to Sophie for her mummy bear (with fidgit spinner!)
Mathematics
- Sorting, ordering by height, length and weight
- Matching
- Comparing
- Number 3
- Counting, understanding and using numbers
- Ordinal numbers
- Cardinal numbers
- Discussing
- Exploring capacity
- Exploring volume
- Calculating simple addition and subtraction problems
- Describing shapes and measures
- Problem-solving
- Passage of time
- Estimating
- Sharing equally
- Sequencing
- One-to-one correspondence
- Representing and interpreting data
- Using logic
- Shape: triangle, circle, hexagon
Mathematical processes
Choosing appropriate equipment
- Being systematic
- Presenting results
- Selecting materials
- Simplify a problem
Recording systematically
- Classifying
- Communicating
- Talking about work in hand
- Explaining how a procedure works
- Thinking logically
- Ordering
- Predicting
- Discussing with others
Generalising
- Recognising patterns
- Completing a task
- Looking for patterns
- Estimating
Vocabulary
Comparing and ordering numbers
First, second, third, compare, match, most, least, more than, less than, the same as, how many…?, enough, count, more, less, too many, too few
Adding and subtracting
- More, altogether, make, take away, how many are left?
- How many have gone?
Solving problems
Reasoning about numbers or shapes
Pattern, count, sort, group, sort, same, different, list
Problems involving ‘real life’ or money
- How much, how many, buy, sell
- Money, coin, penny, pence, cost, spend
Measures
Measure, size, compare, guess, enough, not enough, too many, too few, just over, just under
Length
Length, width, big, bigger, biggest. Tall, taller than, tallest
Small, smaller than, smallest, short, shorter than, shortest. Middle size, long, too long, too short, taller, shorter, height
Mass
Lighter, lighter than, light, heavy, heavier than, weigh, balances, scales, grams
Capacity
Full, empty, holds
Time
Morning, night, before, after
Exploring patterns, shape and space
2D shapes
Triangle, circle, hexagon, pattern
Position, direction and movement
In, out, under, behind, in front, beside, on top, inside, outside, next to, over, between, through, under, back, front, on, off, below’ above
General
- What do you think?
- Why do you think that?
- What comes next?
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Many children have a teddy bear, and we tell lots of stories about bears.
The story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears gives a wonderful opportunity to introduce mathematical ideas about sorting and ordering, matching and comparing, using vocabulary appropriately as well as to introduce early number work.
Getting to know the story
A small bear, a middle-sized bear and a great, huge bear live together in a house in the woods. Each of these bears has their own porridge bowl, chair and bed. One day they make porridge for breakfast, but it’s too hot to eat, so they take a walk in the woods while their porridge cools. While they are out, a young girl called Goldilocks comes to their house. She looks through a window, peeps through the keyhole and lifts the latch. She calls out, but no one is there so she walks in. Goldilocks is very hungry and is pleased to see the bowls of porridge, but the only one she can eat belongs to baby bear. As she sits on the small chair, it breaks. Goldilocks goes upstairs and sees the three beds. She lays on them each in turn but falls asleep in the smallest bed. When the bears come back they find Goldilocks still in the small bed. She wakes, sees the bears, jumps out of the window and runs all the way home. She is never seen again.
Developing a bear environment
As this is the first story about bears, prepare a section of the room as a bear-only environment. This can be a large or small space, but it needs to be where the children can take part in activities and become involved in the life of a bear. A large cardboard box on its side will do.
Cover surfaces with material or wrapping paper showing bears, start a collection of different types, sizes and colours of bears, and use old birthday cards as a background display.
Display a selection of story books that include bears.
As you work through the three bears, add plates, bowls, cups, cutlery and a table cloth. Display children’s work and any books they make.
If possible, add three chairs of different sizes and a table.
Improvise if necessary, using junk materials, remnants of material or dough objects. (See the dough recipe in the resource sheets section.)
Discuss the display with the children. ‘What can you see? Which bear do you like the best? Tell me about your favourite bear. Are the bears all the same as each other? Show me two that are not the same. Can you find me a taller bear or a shorter bear? Have you ever seen a real bear on the television or in a zoo? Tell us about the bears you have seen’.
Developing a prop box
When setting up a play corner, a prop box is a useful starting point. But what is a prop box?
A prop box contains objects or resources that make a connection to a specific role play focus or a series of linked activities. But, in fact, the box can be a bag, a plastic open box, a closed box, a small suitcase or part of (or an entire) vegetable rack. On the whole, having the same container makes life easier over time. Boxes, clearly labelled, can be stacked so that in the future when you approach that particular role play theme, a box will be ready and waiting for you. Over time, you may need to throw away and replace some of the pieces and even introduce new ones.
It is also useful to clearly label the boxes with a list of the contents.
Remember that focusing on a theme for a prop box does not mean that activities are restricted. They are there for children to use or not. They make the choice. But for some children, the fact that they have a starting idea allows them to develop and add to it.
In each box think about what will be useful to both you and the children. For example, include relevant books (fiction and non-fiction), maths and writing resources, songs and rhymes on cassette/CD, labels, banners and blank paper of different colours and shapes.
Other cultures, languages, traditions and artefacts should be in your boxes as much as possible. Children with special needs also need to be considered, as they have a right to access all of the activitie...
