Bears Wake Up in Spring

A short movement story: bears sleep in their mat cave, spring arrives, and they slowly wake up, stretch, go looking for honey, climb trees, and splash in the river. It works joint mobility and a gradual warm-up.

How to play

1. The mats form the cave. Children lie on top, curled up: “It’s winter and the bears are sleeping.” Rub the tambourine gently like the wind (30 s).
2. “The spring sun is coming up”: with slow taps on the tambourine, bears open their eyes, yawn, stretch arms and legs, and roll slowly on their backs (1 min).
3. On all fours, they do angry cat and happy cat, arching and dipping the back, then slowly stand up (1 min).
4. “Let’s find honey!” They leave the cave walking like bears on hands and feet all over the gym. When you play fast, they trot; slow, they walk (2 min).
5. “A honey tree”: they stand on tiptoes and climb with arms and legs in place; then they “splash in the river” with arms and feet (1 min).
6. Back to the cave: they shake water off the whole body and sit together on the mats (1 min).

Rules

• Walk like bears without bumping other bears.
• In the cave, every bear has a spot and nobody gets squished.
• The mats stay put: only the teacher moves them.
• Follow the tambourine: slow playing means slow moving.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: stretch and climb with arms from the wheelchair or lying down, and travel by wheelchair for the bear stroll.
• Autism: show a picture sequence of the story first and always tell it the same way.
• More skilled kids bear-walk faster or backward; less skilled kids crawl on their knees.

Learning goals

• Move the spine and joints gently and gradually.
• Travel on all fours with control.
• Follow a story with the body and the tambourine beat.

Equipment for a class of 25

• mats: 4
• tambourine: 1

Teacher tip

Narrate in a warm, slow voice at first and get livelier later: your voice sets the energy. Lay the mats together before the group comes in.

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