18/02/2026
🌿🐻 **We’re Going on a Bear Hunt… and Spring is on the Way!** 🐻🌿
In our childminding setting we will be exploring the wonderful changes that happen as we move from winter into spring. The children will be able to look & play with our seasonal shelf, inspired by *We’re Going on a Bear Hunt*, and talk about what happens when winter ends and animals begin to wake from their long hibernation.
We’ve been noticing the signs of change all around us — the weather getting milder (and then colder again), new green shoots appearing, and animals like bears slowly waking up. We used lots of repetition in our storytelling:
“Wake up, Bear… wake up!”
“Winter is over… spring is here!”
Through repeating key phrases, the children will build confidence, rhythm and understanding in their language.
Our activitiesencourage exploration and curiosity:
🍃 **Exploring textures** – soft grass, rough bark, smooth wooden trees, cool sensory bottles filled with sparkles and leaves. We described how they felt: “soft, spiky, smooth, cold.”
🌦️ **Talking about weather** – What does winter feel like? Cold, frosty, icy. What about spring? Warm, rainy, bright! We repeated these words throughout our play to help embed new vocabulary.
🥄 **Practising spoon skills** – scooping, stirring and transferring materials helps strengthen those important fine motor muscles ready for independence at mealtimes. “Scoop and pour, scoop and pour!”
By revisiting stories, repeating new words, and exploring hands-on materials, the children are learning that change is part of the world around us — seasons change, weather changes, animals wake up — and we grow and change too. 🌱
What signs of spring have you noticed on your walks? 🌼
