Texture Bear Craft

Teach chilren about bears through their sense of touch.

According to Katharine Hansen, Ph.D., one important way that kinesthetic or tactile learners take in information is through touch. Other types of learners can also benefit from a project that involves the sense of touch. Engage students learning about bears with textured craft projects to enhance their learning experience.

Puppets

Make a textured bear puppet to use in imaginative play or a performance. Use a lunch sized paper bag as the puppet. Add googly eyes and a pom pom nose to the face. Paint the bag with white craft glue and sprinkle coffee grounds to the glue to add texture to the bear. Or simply cut a bear shape out of card stock and attach a craft stick to it. Then add broken egg shells to the cutout to create a texture.

Masks

Make a scary or friendly bear mask out of a paper plate. Cut eye holes and add elastic to the mask to help hold it in place. Glue cotton balls to the mask to create a fuzzy polar bear or use salt as a way to add texture. Use markers or felt pieces to add other details such as the bear's nose, mouth and ears.

Toys

Make a cuddly bear toy by folding a piece of craft fur in half, stuffing it with cotton batting and gluing or sewing around the edges. Add felt pieces for ears, limbs and tongue and add googly eyes or button eyes to the doll. Or create a bear paper doll by cutting a bear out of cardboard and adding a piece of suede or other soft fabric to the cutout. Add beads for the eyes and nose. Make a notch in the bottom of the bear and insert a small piece of rectangular cardboard to serve as a stand.

Other Textured Bear Crafts

Create a book about bears that features various types of textures. Draw pictures of various types of bears and glue a variety of materials to the bear images to create texture. For instance, glue small pieces of yarn to a bear to add texture. Use a three ring notebook to bind the pages together. Young children will enjoy feeling the various textures. Kids will also enjoy making their own teddy bears by stacking and gluing three pom poms together to create the body. Then add googly eyes and felt pieces to create the bears' faces.

References

• My College Succcess Story.com: A Student's Brief Overview of the Kinesthetic/Tactile Learning Style, by Katharine Hansen, Ph.D.