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Hibernation Activities for Preschoolers

by Angela Thayer 11 Comments

The winter season is the perfect time for children to learn about hibernation. Kids are naturally curious and they like to know what animals do during the winter months. Since my kids ask a lot of questions, we’ve done several activities to teach them about hibernation.  The kids had fun and we learned a lot!

Hibernation Activities for Preschoolers

First off, we talked about what hibernation means and which animals hibernate. I created a small emergent reader book for them to read. I made two versions. One is very simple and states which animals hibernate. The other one says where the animal hibernates.

Hibernation Emergent Readers

Here are the printable emergent reader book.

Version 1: Hibernation Emergent Reader

Version 2: Hibernation Emergent Reader 2

Here are the directions:

  • Print the page on card stock (if you can). Print the book on one page so there’s a front and a back side.
  • Cut across the horizontal center of the page.
  • Fold the two pieces in half. Slide one into the other.
  • Staple along the side.

Then we made a cave out with blankets and put all our stuffed animal bears inside!

Bears

Bear Cave

We had fun pretending to hibernate, too! So much fun! You could even sing this bear song while you play.

Or sing this fun hibernation song!

Next, we made an alphabet craft for the letter H.

Letter H

It was simple to make this bear hibernating in a snow-covered cave. I prepared all the cut pieces ahead of time and let the kids glue them together. I also drew the face and claws on the bear.

H is for Hibernation

Then we found some snowflake cut-ups and added them to their craft.

Finished Work

Lastly, we talked about how animals stay warm during winter. We talked about polar bears and how they have a layer of fat, called blubber, to keep them warm. We did this experiment that I found on a friend’s blog, called the blubber experiment.

Blubber Experiment

We filled two bowls up with ice and a little water. Then I put soft butter into one plastic baggie. This is to represent blubber. I had my sons put one hand into an empty plastic baggie and the other into the baggie with butter. Then they put their hands in the cold water. They quickly learned that with no blubber, you get really cold! The butter (or blubber!) kept our  hands from getting too cold.

blubber

We also did a hibernation animal sort and I’m sharing the printable with you!

The directions for the sort are simple. After printing it, cut out the cards, and have your child sort them with animals that hibernate and animals that don’t hibernate.

If you’re looking for a good resource on which animals hibernate, check out this site.

hibernation-sort

Download the free printable sort here —> Hibernation Sort

Here are some more hibernation activities:

This post has a cute bear hibernating in a cave craft and some more fun activities!

Love this sleeping bear craft! So adorable!

Here is a cool engineering project using marshmallows for dens!

This is a fun math activity using bears and caves.

And this hibernation sensory bag is pretty neat, too!

Hibernation Activities for Preschoolers

If you have older children learning about hibernating animals, make sure to download these research study printables! Learn about animals and write down your findings on these reports! Find the free printable here —> Hibernation Reports

hibernating animals

Lastly, if you’re looking for more hands-on science activities for winter, make sure to check out these neat activities!

Winter Science Activities


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  • Winter Songs for PreschoolersWinter Songs for Preschoolers
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  • Arctic Animals Sensory BinArctic Animals Sensory Bin
  • Penguin Sensory BottlePenguin Sensory Bottle

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Filed Under: Alphabet, Kindergarten, Preschool, Printables, Winter Activities Tagged With: hibernation, letter H, winter

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  1. Eva says

    October 24, 2018 at 12:27 pm

    Bears actually don’t hibernate. I’m looking for a preschool craft on amphibian and reptile hibernation. Do you know any?

    Reply
    • Angela Thayer says

      October 29, 2018 at 10:09 am

      Thanks for clarifying! You are right. They just go into a deep sleep. I don’t know of any crafts for that, but I’ll try to come up with one!

      Reply
  2. Tanya Wright says

    July 18, 2018 at 5:48 am

    I love the hibernation study ideas that you have found.

    Reply
  3. Pam says

    December 22, 2017 at 12:29 pm

    Thank you very much for sharing! Cute pictures and very kid-friendly!

    Reply
  4. Pam says

    December 22, 2017 at 12:28 pm

    Fantastic ideas! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  5. marly teel says

    January 24, 2017 at 1:13 pm

    Doing a lesson on hibernation this morning with my 3/4 preschool class. Needed a little bit more than what we had for craft. I like to have lots of “props”/visuals at circle time to introduce the idea. This was perfect!! Tx so much!!

    Reply
  6. Deb says

    January 23, 2017 at 4:47 am

    Thanks for the great ideas I can use to teach my preschool class!

    Reply
  7. Joyce Lee says

    November 28, 2016 at 5:17 am

    That’s great.

    Thank you so much!

    Reply
  8. Kim says

    November 6, 2016 at 6:56 pm

    I have found all your activities to be very helpful and I plan to use many of them. Keep up the great ides!

    Reply
  9. Marilyn Frank says

    January 13, 2016 at 10:04 pm

    Awesome ideas! Thank you so much!!

    Reply
  10. Luz Yuzawa says

    February 6, 2015 at 8:17 am

    Thanks for your material . They are great.

    Reply
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