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Bear Craft · Christmas · Winter Season Preschool Lesson Plan Printable

• Print black & white template 1ba (bear templates only) on white or onto your choice of color craft paper.
• Choose accessories templates with hats, candy canes & message tags in color (3ca, 4ca, 5ca) or black & white (3bb, 4bb, 5bb)

Craft Assembly:
Show the small image of the finished craft briefly (featured in the template) to help the children see how the finished craft looks and to aid them in positioning the pieces.

Note: Start the landscape background first before starting the craft to allow the paint to dry.

• Glue bear's head to body.
• Glue winter hat to bear's head. Optional: paste some cotton balls or batting to hat border and ball tip.
• Glue candy cane and optional message tag. The tags are blank to write a short greeting: Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, etc.

Other decorations and ideas:

1 > Make a winter landscape (Ages 4+)
Materials: 1 piece of standard construction paper, white or beige. crayons (brown) or oil pastels, water colors (light blue and white, brushes or sponges. Cotton or torn white tissue paper. Optional a little salt or glitter

Steps and instructions for making landscape: Children 4 and older

• Ask the children to draw a simple tree with bare branches. Make a quick demonstration with the crayon or pastel on the left side of the paper. Drawing with the crayon will create a resist effect when the watercolor is applied. Comment on why this happens: the wax or oil in the crayon/pastel resists the water (will not mix with) based paint.
• Mix a little blue and white water color or watered down tempera to make a light blue shade. Encourage children to sponge or use wide brushes to paint over the tree and the entire page.
• While the paint is still wet sprinkle with a little salt to create texture. Set the page aside to dry and proceed to make the bear craft or other activity.
• When the page is fairly dry, place some rolled tape on the back of the bear (masking tape works well) and paste to landscape next to the tree. The bear will raise slightly above the paper.
• Apply some glue on the bottom and in some of the branches in the landscape. Children can glue torn white tissue paper or divided cotton balls or cotton batting for a snow effect.
• Children can draw in other elements: a simple bird, or provide winter stickers like snowflakes and glitter glue.
  
  The landscape craft can be used as a large greeting card or as a cover for a holiday scrapbook.
• Optional: Frame the landscape. Cut 3/4" strips of construction paper the length and width of the landscape paper. Older children can also experiment by using textured scissors to make the frame more interesting or color a design on the frame after gluing it.