We are loving all of the positive feedback we have been receiving, thankyou! Welcome to week 5 of ‘Toddler Tuesdays’. You can find more of our ‘Toddler Tuesdays’ activities here. This week’s activity is ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’. With inspiration taken direction from the ever popular children book by the same name. If it’s not one you’re familiar with please check it out from the library, it’s loved by many.

You will need -

A container with a small amount of water. You may like to use a sink if your child has safe step access. This will be your river.
A blanket to lay on the floor, this will be your mud.
A dark wardrobe or walk in robe would be perfect, this will be your forest.
A small table, coffee table, toddler table or even a kitchen chair would work well.
A further blanket to cover the table and make your cave.
A stuffed toy who will play the part of the bear.
Optional - A copy of the book ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’.

Instructions -

Before you introduce your child to the activity prepare each of the zones, river, mud, forest and cave complete with bear. If you have a copy of the book you may even like to read it to your child. Choose a part of your home as the starting place, maybe the front door or your child’s bedroom. Get them excited, ‘We’re going on a bear hunt! We’re going to catch a big one!’ Then lead them to the first zone. ‘Uh-oh, a river. We can’t go over it, we can’t go under it, we’ll have to go through it!’ ‘Splash, splash, splash!’ Encourage your child to have a little paddle in the water you’ve provided. Continue on with each of the zones, mud, squelch, squelch, take your shoes off and be really dramatic pulling up your pants and squelching across the blanket. Next you’ll move on the the forest and stumble, stumble your way through. Now you find the cave, tiptoe tiptoe, ‘What’s that?’ Build some suspense as you describe the bear (stuffed toy) to your child. Then shout ‘Quick! Back through the forest, back through the mud, back through the river.’ All the while you are moving quickly back through the zones to your starting place. Once back to the start have a hug and a laugh. Your child might like to repeat this activity again, immediately. Encourage them to take a favorite teddy with them. Encourage use of the appropriate language along the way, even if they are only saying some of the key words. Do not leave your child unsupervised with the water you have set up for the river.

Focus -

As this activity is based off a book it has a beginning, middle and end, excellent for encouraging children to create their own narrative about an event. Many children will already be familiar with the storyline and by acting it out you are encouraging their imagination and creative play. There is a lot of rhyme and repetition in the story which helps to build language. Your child is also practicing their gross motor skills as they walk, tiptoe or crawl through each of the zones.

If you try out one of our activities please let us know what your toddler (and you) thought. Feel free to leave a comment here or post an image or comment to our Facebook page. If you enjoy the activity we would encourage you to share this post with your friends.