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Hibernation theme for 3 and 4 year olds: a week of activities

A hibernation theme lesson plan for 3 and 4 year olds: what a day looks like, then the week's circle time (ten to fifteen minutes, with a child holding the book), books, craft, song, snack, letter and outside time, each with what changes at this age.

Plan this week for 3 and 4 year oldsThe whole hibernation week

A day of the hibernation theme with 3 and 4 year olds

  1. Arrival, sign-in, and a job from the helper chart.
  2. Circle (ten to fifteen minutes): calendar, “Where does a bear sleep in the winter?”, sing “wee willie winkie”, then Not Yet, Ted.
  3. Centers, with the craft at one table: paper-bag cave.
  4. Letter B: trace it once, then hunt for B around the room.
  5. Snack: Teddy Bear Toast, with children pouring and counting.
  6. Outside: bear hunt walk.
  7. Rest, then a longer read-aloud: The Bear Who Could Not Sleep.

Hibernation circle time

  1. Good morning song, then say each name together.
  2. Calendar: the day, the date and the weather.
  3. Ask: “Where does a bear sleep in the winter?”
  4. Sing: Wee Willie Winkie.
  5. Read: Not Yet, Ted (level 3).

Threes and fours: ten to fifteen minutes; let a child hold the book.

Hibernation theme books

  • Not Yet, Ted (level 3, free on peabody.kids): A bear who is not ready for bed yet.
  • Dad Naps (level 0, free on peabody.kids): Napping, in a pattern even twos can say.
  • The Black Cat (level 2, free on peabody.kids): A cat who naps, for a quiet-time talk.
  • The Bear Who Could Not Sleep (read aloud, level 6): A read-aloud: a bear in winter who cannot sleep.

Hibernation craft: Paper-bag cave

You need (4): brown paper bag, a bear drawn or printed on card, cotton balls (snow), glue stick.

  1. Open the bag on its side as a cave.
  2. Glue snow on the top of the cave.
  3. Put the bear inside to sleep.

With a grown-up. No heat, nothing hot.

Hibernation song: Wee Willie Winkie

The words

Wee Willie Winkie runs through the town, Upstairs and downstairs in his nightgown, Rapping at the window, crying through the lock, "Are the children all in bed, for now it's eight o'clock?"

Traditional; public domain. From Top 52 nursery rhymes with lyrics.

Hibernation snack

Teddy Bear Toast from the Peabody Kitchen: picture steps, allergy swaps and safety lines on the recipe.

Swap: Bread → gluten-free bread; Peanut butter → sunflower seed butter.

Letter B activities

BbB is for bear. Print the two pages (a trace page and a color page).

Threes and fours: trace B and b once, then find B in the room and in the book.

Outside activity: Bear hunt walk

Walk around the yard on a bear hunt: over the log, through the grass, into the cave (under the slide).

Hibernation theme for toddlersHibernation theme for 2 year oldsHibernation theme, all ages

Checked 2026-10-30