Bears Level: Early Grades - Skills & games

Bounce the Teddy (pulse, pitch)

You need one teddy for this passing game. Children love taking their turn at bouncing the teddy and you'll see that some children will naturally bounce the teddy in time with the pulse of the song. The tune is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star but we began by chanting the words and helping the children to bounce the teddy at the right time and then pass it on.

High and Low Bears (pitch)

You'll need two chime bars, the smallest and the largest to give a significant difference in pitch. Play each chime bar for a few seconds, alternating between the two as the children move around the room into a space, putting their hands high in the air for high sounds, and crawling low down for low sounds. It's good to give the children the correct words, high pitch and low pitch, when you first demonstrate what to do.

You could play to the rhythm, in your head, of any phrase (eg Walking like a teddy bear). It's important to play at the same speed and loudness to avoid confusion over what high and low pitch means.