When it comes to kids’ literature and toys, there’s just something about bears. For generations, the snuggly, lovable animals have been the featured stars of many children’s stories. The beloved children’s toy, the teddy bear, has continued to evoke feelings of joy, comfort and a sense of security among generations of children. What better way to incorporate your child’s beloved stuffy friends in their play than with a teddy bear picnic!
The Guide
Step 1: Gather materials.
Gather some art materials (paper, markers) and some kitchen utensils you don't mind getting dirty (pie and muffin tins, spoons) and head outside.
Step 2: Invite Play.
Read a book featuring bears or teddy bears (here is a list of some of our favorites). Say, “We have some teddy bears (or stuffed animal friends) of our own. Would you like to make a special picnic for our bears (friends)?”
Step 3: Search for teddy bears.
Collect all the teddy bears you have around the house. Suggest that you can invite all kinds of stuffed animal friends, too, so that all our stuffy friends feel included (and you can still have a picnic even if you don't have a teddy bear). Need a stuffed friend? Make a forest friend.
Step 4: Plan your picnic.
The planning of the picnic can be just as engaging as the picnic itself. What kind of picnic would teddy bears like? What foods would they like to eat? What party games would they enjoy?
Step 5: Set up your picnic.
Once you have planned out the picnic, it’s time to put the ideas into action! Offer your assistance in suggesting and gathering materials your child needs for their picnic. Offer a picnic blanket, plates, cups and cooking utensils you don't mind bringing outside and invite your child to set the stage for a teddy bear picnic. Kids can bring water outside and offer it as refreshment for teddy bears. Wonder what “ingredients” from outside your child could pretend to be food for the picnic.
Step 6: Have a teddy bear picnic!
Once your child is satisfied with their set-up, enjoy a pretend picnic together with your teddy bears. You can also offer real snacks for your child to enjoy alongside their bears. Stuffed animals often hold special significance for kids. Invite your child to share what they love best about each of their teddy bears or stuffed animal friends. What special memories do they have of their bear friends?
Play games and extend play!
Once the teddy bears’ bellies are full, extend play with some teddy bear picnic activities. Here are some ideas:
Teddy bear hike: Take one or more teddy bears for a walk around your outdoor space and introduce them to your child’s favorite climbing tree, flower, rock, etc.
Guess which teddy: Put all the teddy bears in a pile and invite your child to close their eyes and pick one. Can they guess which teddy bear it is just by the way that it feels?
Play catch: Give teddy bear friends a thrilling ride by tossing them back and forth together.
Teddy bear dance party: Play some of your child’s favorite music and have a dance party with teddy bear friends. How do the teddy bears like to dance?
Why is this activity great for kids?
Incorporating beloved stuffed animals into pretend play nurtures kid’s creativity and imaginations. And, envisioning and planning a picnic with the foods and games teddy bears would most enjoy is a super way for kids to lean into both cognitive and compassionate empathy.
By creativity, we mean the ability to both imagine original ideas or solutions to problems and actually do what needs to be done to make them happen. So, to help kids develop creativity, we parents need to nurture kids' imaginations and give them lots of chances to design, test, redesign and implement their ideas.
"Creativity is as important now in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status.”
Why, you ask? For one, it is through being creative that a person is able to get senses, sensibility and spirit working together. Simply put, without creativity, we don't think our kids will live a full life.
On a more practical level, it's also the means by which humans of all ages make an impact on the world and other people around them. A lot of heavy stuff is going to go down in our kids' lifetime, and their generation will need to imagine and implement solutions to big and very complicated problems. Although our kids are still far from public office or the boardroom, today's political and business leaders worldwide are already pointing to creativity as the most important leadership quality for the future.
Although years from the art studio or design lab, little kids can learn to think and act creatively if you give them time and the right practice.
Imagination
Category:
Thinking Skills
What is Imagination?
Imagination is defined in many ways, but one we like is, "the act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality." This is no small task to little kids, and yet young childhood is a time in which imagination is developed more than any other. How does imagination develop in childhood? Through an increasingly sophisticated life of make believe.
We all likely have a sense of what we mean by make believe or good old "pretend play." How do experts define it, though? To some, there are different types of make believe that vary in sophistication and make pretend play different than other types of play. For example, kids may use objects to represent something else (e.g. a block becomes a cell phone). Or, they may start to give an object certain properties (e.g. a doll is asleep or a tree is on fire!). Still yet, they may themselves take on the properties of someone or something else.
From there, pretend play evolves into acting out scenarios or stories, those getting increasingly intricate as imagination develops. As kids' pretend play grows more sophisticated, these stories come to involve not only the creative use of objects, but multiple perspectives (e.g. good and bad guys in the same story), and/or the playful manipulation of ideas and emotions (e.g. I am sad, but then become happy after I save the village from certain doom).
Why does it matter?
An ever growing body of research substantiates the many benefits of pretend play including the enhanced development of: language and communication skills; self-control and empathy; flexible and abstract thinking; and creativity. These are the skills that will help kids balance emotions, form healthy relationships, work effectively on teams, stay focused in school, be successful at various jobs and solve the problems of an increasingly complicated world. An individual's creativity in particular, both requires and is limited by her imagination.
Empathy
Category:
Social Skills
What is Empathy?
Simply put, empathy is the ability to think and care about the feelings and needs of others. The good news is, the more we study, it appears that children are empathetic by nature. All we need to do is nurture it in them—that of course is now always easy. Even though young children are simply working on gaining control over their emotions and won’t learn to really think about their emotions and the cause and effect of their behavior on others until their school years, they can start to develop the foundation for empathy much earlier. Taking actions (and watching adults take actions) that benefit other people, caring for animals and their environment and even just wondering how other people or creatures are feeling helps build both positive habits and a strong base for the development of empathy.
Why does it matter?
Empathy is at the root of what psychologists call “pro-social” behavior—behavior that people must develop in order to develop a conscience, build close relationships, maintain friendships, and develop strong communities. Empathy also helps kids avoid bullying, one of the most worrisome social challenges young kids face. Being able to think and feel for others can keep kids from becoming either bully or victim and equip them to stand up for others who are bullied. Imagine if all kids had such tools!
Age: 0 to 8+
Time: 1 hour+
Materials: teddy bears (or other stuffed animals), picnic blanket, cups, plates, cooking utensils, water, nature treasures
