Book Review: We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen

This book is such a classic!  There are so many things to love about it.

One of my favorite elements is its repetitiveness.  Younger children will pick up on the 'chorus' quickly and enjoy reading along with you.  (Great auditory memory activity for children with hearing loss!)  I also love how well it lends itself to reading with rhythm, as if you're marching. A great activity that goes along with this book is having the child make their own drum, and then take it on a bear hunt! The child can work on following directions, (a crucial skill and one I always try to incorporate somehow).  Then hide your child's teddy bear around the yard or inside the house while they recite the 'chorus':

"We're Going on a Bear Hunt

We're going to Catch a Big one!

What a beautiful day!

We're not scared!"

Another great thing about this song is how easy it is to add actions.  If you need ideas, watch Michael Rosen himself act out the book.  It's quite entertaining.  What a character that man is.

ALSO - prepositions!  This book really reinforces the concepts of 'over' and 'under' and 'through', which are sometimes hard to grasp for little ones.  Throw in actions for these too!

Charlotte from Make Do & Friend had this darling idea to help reinforce the vocabulary and make it fun!  I'm dying to try it!

This book is also fun to use to teach descriptions.  "Long, wavy grass" or "deep, cold river" are some phrases from it.  Have your child come up with their own descriptors.  No wrong answers!  Well, that's not necessarily true.  But you know what I mean.

Another reason I like it (also good for kids with hearing loss) is it teaches onomatopoeia.  "Swishy, swashy" or "squelch squerch" are really fun to say!  They reinforce the idea that certain things (like mud and grass) make different sounds and how we sometimes try to imitate that in English.

FUN STUFF!  What other ideas do you have for this book?