I came up with this variation (although I’m sure it’s been done many times before) on the classic song “5 In the Bed” to fit with my bear storytime. I just add the word bear into the lyrics. Before I put the bears in the bed, I ask the kids to guess how many bears will fit. When I first put the bears in the bed, I talk about how crowded it looks in there, and how squished they must feel, especially the little one.
Then we sing:
5 bears in the bed, and the little one said,
Roll over, roll over (roll your hands)
And they all rolled over and one fell out (take a bigger bear out of the bed).
When I get down to just the little one left in the bed, I sing:
He’s got the whole bed to himself to the tune of He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands.
The bed is clip art, and the bears are so very old, I have no idea where they are from. Everything is laminated paper. I use spray glue on the bed to make the bears stick, but double stick tape would work as well.
Note #1: If you are fond of making bears, you wouldn’t have to stop at 5 bears, you could have many more.
Note #2: Today I had a storytime kid ask me where the bears went when they fell out of bed. Hmmm…
This week’s round up is being hosted by Anne (thank you Anne!) at So Tomorrow. Be sure to visit the beautiful Flannel Friday Pinterest account. So Tomorrow has past roundups and future hosting schedule, as well.
I never thought to try spray glue or double stick tape on laminated pieces that need to layer. Thanks for the tip!
I like using the removable double stick tape because it doesn’t leave sticky residue behind so the pieces don’t turn into one big blob of sticky (it can also cause some flannelboard malfunctions because its not as sticky as the regular stuff, but hey… sometimes things don’t work out perfect, right?).
I’ll second Anne’s comment. I would never have thought of that on my own. Thanks!
This will be so perfect for my bedtime-themed story times this summer! And I am already pondering other animals that might be fun to use in place of bears. Hedgehogs. Chickens. Frogs. The possibilities are endless!
Oh, I love this idea! Thank you for the inspiration!
And thirded — I have never thought to use spray glue before!
Cute idea! I love that you followed the song immediately with another song. It extends the activity and keeps the children’s attention for a longer amount of time. I am always looking for ways to do that ~ so that even the youngest storytime friend’s stay focused longer. Great job!
man that is one very teddy bear bed. and i also agree the double sided take is a good idea (i’m pretty clumsy with the spray glue). blue sticky tack might work too.