We're Going on a Bear Hunt {B4FI♥AR}

~Bo is 3 years, 1.5 months~ 

This row brings back so many fond memories of rowing with Malachi and Eliana. And while I wasn't sure I would enjoy Before Five in a Row as much the second time around, I think I will enjoy it MORE! This row is Week 6 in our life, and was a really full, and fun week!

Day 1

Each day this week, Bo watched the video of the story, and followed along in the book, We're Going on a Bear Hunt.* As you can see, he really enjoyed this.

We used Homeschool Creation's printables for several activities.

Little to Biggest

Where's the Bear? 

Bo really loved this game. We took turns hiding the bear and recognizing numbers to find the bear. I would tell him the bear is under number 3, for example, and he would find the number. Bo can recognize all numbers to five, and most numbers to ten, by the end of the game.

Counting Bears

Then, we used the paw prints to practice counting Hugga Bear Cookies.

We're Going on a Color Hunt

Day 2

We're Going on a Shape Hunt

I hid shapes in a tub of long wavy grass.

And Bo had to find them and match them up to a Shapes Card that I printed from Confessions of a Homeschooler's Letter of the Week curriculum.

Eliana hid a Squinkie bear in there for Bo to find.

Uh, oh. Grass. Long, wavy grass.

Oh, no! We'll have to go through it!

Swishy swashy. Swishy swashy.

Another shapes activity from Confessions of a Homeschooler. 

Teddy Mix and Match*

Bo plays this game regularly and it never gets old.

Telling me he has five matches. (He has ten).

Day 3

Animal ABC Shapes 

Watching the video again, and following along in the book, with Sissy's help.

Uh, oh. A River. A Deep Cold River. 

We added Saucy Yuck and later some Chunky Yuck to the water for a fun sensory experience. (Sample packs are  now available for $2.95 with free shipping).

Bo doesn't like to get his hands messy, so I added some blue food coloring and gave him a wooden spoon to stir it in. Then brother and sister wanted to play and that made it more fun.

Talking About Bears

Play Dough Bb

Really loved how much time and effort he put into rolling the dough and making his letters.

What Letter Does It Start With?

I wasn't really sure if Bo was ready for this activity, but he did really well with it! He listened for the sound at the beginning of the word and placed a transparent sticker over the letter that makes that sound. If he didn't get it right away, I sounded out the word again and emphasized the first sound. Listening for sounds is a skill taught in All About Reading Pre-1 (affiliate link), so this gets me excited about doing this level with Bo!

Dot Paint the Bbs on the Bear

Connect the Bear to the Cave

Day 4

Make a Memory ~ Thick Oozy Chocolate Mud Pudding 

I had Bo scoop chocolate pudding into silicone bear muffin tin cups. Then he hid bears in the pudding.

 Squelch squerch!

Then we topped it with whipped cream for a swirling, whirling snowstorm. {Awesome idea from Susana @ Our Homeschool Fun!}

Bo really only wanted to eat the whipped cream, so we used the pudding to finger paint a B!

Meanwhile, outside there is a real swirling, whirling snowstorm. 

In fact, we had many snowstorms this week.

Day 5

We're Going on a {Real} Bear Hunt! 

We went on a Field Trip to ZooMontana to hunt for a real bear. They have a black bear and a grizzly bear, but they were sleepy today. Bears only partially hibernate so they do come out, and did just before we left, but it was cold and I didn't feel like walking all the way back to see them.

But, we did see this super cute Red Panda Bear (not really a bear, but cute!) who was quite active and interesting to watch.

We hardly ever make time for fun trips like this when we go to Montana (to shop), so this was fun.

Watercolor Art

This fab idea is from Learn with Play at Home. We watercolored* the scenes from the book. I had Bo paint on 4x6 watercolor paper so I could put them in my Project Life album. We also made a bear cave with two goggly eyes to put in our Bear Hunt Scene.

I had Bo watch the video of the book while we painted, and I paused at each scene so he could paint.

We really had a wonderful, memorable time with this book! Wish they could all be this fun!

Disclaimer: my post are not meant to replace the Before Five in a Row manual.

Delightful Links:

• *Bo's Learning Tools, Toys, Books, & Games {links to products we use}


• Before FI♥AR Link-Up


• We're Going on a Bear Hunt Row with Mali and Elli


• Tot School Gathering Place Link-Up


• Preschool & Kindergarten Community Link-Up