We’re Going on a Bear Hunt Printables

One of the most popular children’s books is We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury. It is one of my favorite books because it is a great way to inspire imagination. Whether you are using this book for story time, in your classroom, or at home you will love these free printables.

In this book, a family decides to go on a bear hunt. First, they leave their house. Then, they climb through tall, wavy grass. Next, they have to cross a cold river. After that they come across sticky mud. Then, they see a dark forest and decide to go through it. Then, oh no! A snowstorm approaches. Up next, the final stop is a bear cave. A dark, gloomy bear cave. Inside they discover a brown bear! They run back to their house through all of the obstacles they faced on the way. The family gets home safe and sound.

If you are a preschool teacher, you will want to add this book and bear hunt activities to your lesson plans. You will love these fun ideas!

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt Retelling

Use this free printable sequencing sheet to retell this popular children’s book. They can be used on a felt board. Put magnets on the back and use them on a magnetic surface such as a white board or easel. If you have a pocket chart, these story cards can go on a sentence strip paired with ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.). Attach the cards to craft sticks to turn them into puppets. This is a fun way to retell the story.

Another great bear hunt activity is to use the bear card with positional words. “Can you put the bear on top of the cave?” or “Put the bear under the tree.”.

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt Activities

Here’s another fun activity for little learners. Use dot markers to color the bear. Dot markers are great for fine motor skills. You can also use q-tips and paint.

Another idea is to draw different shapes inside the circles. Challenge your young learner to stamp all of the triangles blue and squares green. Try letters or numbers this way too.

Here’s a matching activity that is so much fun. There are two pages of animal footprints. Print two copies of the cards and cut them out. Print them onto card stock for durability. Clipart used in this activity is from Brick Red Bard.

• Use the cards as a matching activity.
• Cut the footprints in half to turn them into puzzles.
• Play a game of Memory with the cards.

Download the FREE We’re Going on a Bear Hunt Printables

This free document includes the We’re Going on a Bear Hunt Retelling Cards, the Bear Dot Marker Page, and the Animal Matching activity.

More Fun Bear Hunt Ideas

Want a bigger project based on this classic children’s book? Try these free printables to make your own We’re Going on a Bear Hunt lapbook from Homeschool Share.

Make a Bear Hunt Sensory Collage from Homegrown Friends. This craft is great for sensory exploration!

Set up a small world play area to go with the story like she did at Learning and Exploring Through Play. The pictures of how she set it up are incredible and inspiring!

Make your own binoculars from empty cardboard tubes (cut in half). Use the binoculars to go on your own bear hunt.

Buggy and Buddy shared a great map activity. Make your own maps and take them with your binoculars on a bear hunt. This map craft is a fun way to remember the details of the story in order too.

Set up an obstacle course, but watch out for wild bears. As the children move through different obstacles they can look for bears in different places (stuffed bears, plastic bears, paper bears, etc.).

Have a bring your own stuffed animals to school day. Encourage teddy bears to go with the story. Sort the bears by color, order them by size, hide them for a partner to find. It sounds like so much fun!

Make a bear hunt sensory bin like they did at Childhood 101. Don’t have room for a sensory tub? Try these Bear Hunt sensory bottles from Mommy’s Block Party. They look so inviting!

What better way to enjoy a good story than with a cute snack. Make and eat this bear in a cave snack from Pre-K Pages.

Emergent readers from Making Learning Fun are wonderful to go with the story. Look for words you know or just use the pictures to retell the story.

Create a Bear Hunt Craft with these three ideas from Pink Stripey Socks. The crafts include a paper bag bear puppet (use the free printable), a paper plate bear mask (use brown paint or brown paper), and an interactive coloring page.