Cuddle Bear by Claire Freedman is about a huggable, lovable teddy bear. It’s a cute read for toddler, preschool or kindergarten storytime, bedtime, as a complimentary book to your Valentine’s Day activities, — or for just snuggling and reading any time!
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We loved reading and snuggling with Cuddle Bear during of our “book of the week” pick leading up to Valentine’s Day activities. But Cuddle Bear is not specifically about Valentine’s Day, so you can read it anytime of year!
Whether you’re sad, lonely, big, tall, short, or small — this teddy bear has a hug for all!
What is Book of the Week?
“Book of the Week” is a literature-based study we designed to nurture the early years of childhood through great books, creative projects and play.
Visual, auditory and kinesthetic learners will all benefit from a variety of lessons and activities. Complete them as outlined in the 5-day plan, or pick and choose according to your needs!
The “Book of the Week” method suggests you read the same book every day for five days and explore a different angle of the story each day.
My kids LOVE reading favorites over and over, and each time we’ve done “book of the week” studies these books become some of their absolute “favorites.”
Here are some things we did while enjoying Cuddle Bear:
Day 1: Cuddle Bear Book & Valentine’s Day Activities
Long Distance Hugs
After we read Cuddle Bear for the first time we talked about different ways to show love — including giving a hug, like Cuddle Bear!
Currently we live in Kentucky, and our grandparents and other extended family live in Washington. So we don’t get to physically hug them very often. I’m sure you have someone you love that’s far away too! We created “long distance hugs” to send to someone far away by painting handprints and attaching a cute rhyme.
Homemade Soft Pretzel Hearts
And then for a snack we made homemade soft pretzels, in the shape of hearts!
Have you ever made homemade soft pretzels? They’re surprisingly easy and really fun for the kids to help make, especially once the dough is ready. My kids are all about making dough “snakes” and shaping the pretzels (which don’t always turn out as pretty as Pinterest!).
Find the recipe here. So yummy for a Valentines Day snack, or anytime of year.
Day 2: Cuddle Bear Book & Valentine’s Day Activities
Animal Sequencing
On the second day we read Cuddle Bear and took extra time to notice the animals who need some cheering up. Then we matched each animal in the book with a picture card, putting them in sequential order as they appeared in the story.
To further the learning, you could place number manipulatives on top of the animals after they’ve been sequenced, or write with numbers on the laminated cards with a dry-erase marker. Then practice counting to 10 and one-to-one correspondence.
Continue number practice with an adorable Cuddle Bear dot-to-dot, and then make Heart-shaped Pancakes for lunch! Side note… why do pancakes always taste better at dinnertime?!
Day 3: Cuddle Bear Book & Valentine’s Day Activities
Love Bear Valentine Craft
If you’ve been around a minute you know how much we love our printable templates for easy and fun crafts. And this Love Bear craft is a fun compliment to Cuddle Bear! Print the template, paint or color, cut, and paste to make an adorable Love Bear storytime craft.
Bear Valentine Snacks
For snack we made little “love bears” with Teddy Grahams topped with heart sprinkles. Fun for the kids, and great fine motor skill practice! Squirt a drop of frosting on top of each Teddy Graham cracker, and top with a large heart-shaped sprinkle, or small heart-shaped candy.
Day 4: Cuddle Bear Book & Valentine’s Day Activities
Bear Hug Valentines
On day four we read Cuddle Bear and then we created “bear hugs.”
Cut around the bear outline on the printable template, fold the bear’s arms in towards the body like it’s giving a “hug.” Glue a Hershey’s Hug candy underneath the folded arms.
These made fun Valentine cards to share, but could really be made and given to a friend any time of year.
Pretzels Hug Snacks
For snack we dipped into those Hershey Hugs again to make “Pretzel Hugs.” Because when you read a book about hugs, you HAVE to make “hug” snacks! 😉
Seriously though, are these chocolatey pretzel snacks dangerous for anyone else? I can eat way more than I’m willing to admit!
- Spread a handful of pretzels on a microwaveable plate or sheet pan.
- Unwrap Hugs (great fine motor practice for kids!) and place on top of each pretzel.
- Place chocolate-topped pretzels in microwave or oven until chocolate is melted, then immediately place an M&M on top of melted chocolate.
- Cool in fridge until chocolate is hardened, before eating. Sweet and salty, and so yum!
Day 5: Cuddle Bear Book & Valentine’s Day Activities
On our last day of Cuddle Bear, we read the book and then introduced/reviewed the heart shape. Then we went on a “scavenger hunt” throughout each page to identify all the hearts.
Next we practiced fine motor and pre-writing skills by filling in a heart-shape with Do-a-Dot marker. These markers are FAVORITES at our house and perfect for little hands and beginning learners.
Snacktime was simple but fun as we cut hearts out of a tortilla using a cookie cutter and melted cheese on top to make “heart-shaped quesadillas.” (See my Instagram post for a “mom-life” behind-the-scenes story on these quesadillas!)
“Real-life” story on Instagram
Cuddle Bear “Book of the Week” Printables
Would your kids enjoy this Cuddle Bear Book & Valentine’s Day activities? The lesson plans, snacks, supplies, and printables are FREE with the purchase of the Cuddle Bear Book and/or teddy bear from my Usborne Books & More store. Or you can find the printables on their own at Teachers Pay Teachers.
