Summary: Take part in a community initiative and get some exercise in the process!
Set-up: 5 minutes
Play: Ongoing
Complexity: Easy to more complex, depending on extensions
Materials
- teddy bear
What to do
Go on a walk in your neighbourhood and check to see if there are any teddy bears peeping out from the neighbours’ windows, as part of a growing Bear Hunt initiative in which people display teddy bears in their windows for children to spot (#putyourteddyout). As this is inspired by the children’s book We’re going on a bear hunt by Michael Rosen, you might like to read the story, or watch a video of the author reading it. Your children might be inspired to put their own teddies in the window for other children to spot. Repeat the walk regularly noting any changes – are there more bears? Have any bears moved or changed? Can they remember which houses have bears? Imagine names for the bears you see and what the bears might be thinking as they look out of their windows.
Extensions
Older children might like to:
Keep a count of bears, and decide how to record what they find out (for example, a tally chart, a list, or a map)
Write a message in chalk on the pavement outside your house for bear-hunters to read.
Design a large name tag (Paddington Bear style) with their bear’s name and maybe his key personality features.
Challenge your child to pose their bear, dress him up or add props, in order to make other children smile.
What learning does this activity promote?
Physical activity, observation, imagination
