Hibernating Bear Paper Plate Craft and Free Template

The kids and I made a sleeping bear in its winter den as part of our hibernation activities using paper plates and nature treasures we gathered from outside. Our little bear looks so cute nestled in for some winter rest! Make your own sleeping bear using our free printable template while having fun learning about hibernation.

This post is part of the Creative Preschoolers bi-weekly theme so please be sure to check out the rest of the activities at the bottom of this post.

Here are 3 books we recommend that go perfectly with this hibernation craft. I love reading books before crafting because it always seems to spark kid’s imaginations.

Bear Snores On (affiliate link) by Karma Wilson

Time to Sleep (affiliate link) by Denise Fleming

Hibernation Station (affiliate link)

by Michelle Meadows

Paper Plate Bear in Cave Craft

Supplies:
Bear template (available to download for free at the end of this post)
Paper plate
Scissors
Paint brush
Pen
Craft paint (black, gray)
Glue
Nature treasures (leaves, sticks, bark…)
Cotton balls

Directions:
1. Cut paper plate in half and cut out the middle section to make a “C” shape for the front of the cave.

2. Paint the “C” shape gray and the other half of the paper plate black for the inside of the cave and set aside to dry.

3. Cut out a bear and draw a sleeping face on it. Little Tiger liked making sleepy eyes instead of the regular round awake eyes.

4. Glue the bear to the black part of the cave and decorate the cave with cotton balls and nature treasures. Little Tiger wanted to make sure her bears were extra comfortable because they were going to be sleeping a long time.