Celebrating International Polar Bear Day With Preschoolers
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International Polar Bear Day is celebrated on February 27. The goal is to raise awareness of the huge threats polar bears face and encourage people to take action to protect their future and preserve this beautiful species. With this in mind, I created a FREE International Polar Bear pack.
We all know that the Arctic ice is melting, seriously affecting the ecosystem. Polar bears are an important species that help maintain the balance and health of this ecosystem, and if they become extinct, it could have serious consequences and cause irreversible damage. It is time for us to do something about it.
This 30-page International Polar Bear Day pack includes Literacy, Math, Science, and Fine Motor activities. You can find it at the end of this post.
History of International Polar Bear Day
Polar bears were hunted by indigenous cultures that have lived in the Arctic for thousands of years for food and skin to survive, which balanced the Arctic ecosystem. However, in the 1700s, hunters from Europe, Russia, and North America began to overhunt the polar bear population, and the species began to decline rapidly.
In the 1950s, the increasing use of coal, oil, and gas as fuels began to melt the sea ice, causing serious changes in the polar bear environment. This caused environmental groups to try to protect the Arctic without success.
In 1973, the U.S., the former USSR, Denmark, and Norway partnered and signed the International Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears and Habitat, regulating commercial hunting and classifying polar bears as endangered.
In 1994, Polar Bears International (PBI) was funded. Its primary mission was to establish programs to protect polar bears and spread awareness through research, education, and activities. With this in mind, in 2011, they celebrated the first International Polar Bear Day, and they continue to do so every year.
This day coincides with the time when polar bear moms and cubs are snug in their dens, focusing on protecting denning families across the Arctic.
Facts About Polar Bears
- Polar bears are intelligent marine mammals and the largest carnivore on land.
- Their scientific name is Ursus maritimus.
- Some believe that they started to evolve about five million years ago from brown bear ancestors.
- Polar bears’ skin is black, and their fur is transparent with a hollow core that reflects light. This helps the bears blend in with their surroundings.
- Their fur has a greasy coat, so they dry faster after swimming.
- They also have a layer of fat about 4.5 inches thick and two layers of fur to help them stay warm, but they can overheat when it gets too warm.
- They have 12-inch paws with tiny bumps called papillae and large claws to help them grip the ice and catch slippery seals.
- Polar bears use their webbed feet as paddles that help them be excellent swimmers.
- They can travel over 100 kilometers offshore and swim for days at a time, at around 10 kilometers per hour.
- Since they cannot outswim a seal, they travel about 19 miles a day and rely on their amazing eyesight, hearing, and sense of smell to find prey, sitting for long periods and waiting for seals to emerge from the ice to attack.
- They mostly eat seal blubber because of its high fat.
- They also eat caribou, grass, walrus, beached whales, and seaweed. If they are stranded on land, they will eat vegetation, geese, and bird eggs, but they can survive for seven to ten days without food.
- Polar bears have 42 sharp teeth. They also have a gap between their front and back teeth to help them grab seals out of the water onto the ice.
- Polar bears always leave a bit of food behind, so the Arctic foxes follow them to eat their leftovers. However, they risk being eaten by the polar bear if it’s hungry.
- Polar bears gallop to move around.
- Their nostrils close when swimming to protect them from accidentally breathing in the water.
- Their short tails and ears prevent them from losing heat.
- Adult male polar bears usually weigh about 1,200 pounds or more, are over 8 feet long when measured from their nose to their tail, and can stand 10 feet tall.
- Female polar bears are smaller and usually only weigh about 330 to 650 pounds.
- Polar bears also communicate through sight, touch, and smell. They sway their heads from side to side when they want to play. When stressed, they make chuffing sounds and use roars, hisses, or growls when angry. Their growls get deeper when they are defending food. They also attack with lowered heads and ears laid back and move downwind to show submission.
- When polar bears seek a mate, they get stinky feet.
- They clean their bodies by rolling around in the snow.
- Polar bears spend part of the year on land, but they don’t have territory because the ice moves all the time.
- They like to be alone, but sometimes they can be found in a group called a pack or a sleuth.
- An adult male polar bear is called a boar, a female is called a sow, and a baby is called a cub.
- Polar bears don’t hibernate.
- Mother bears build snow dens to give birth to their babies in November or December and use their reserved fat to keep the babies warm.
- Polar bear cubs are tiny. They’re about the size of a stick of butter and weigh the same as a guinea pig.
- Females usually have two cubs and don’t eat or drink during that time.
- They emerge from the den four to five months later. The cubs will stay with their mother for about two years. During that time, they learn how to survive in the Arctic.
- Polar bears can live in the wild for about 25 to 30 years.
- The polar bear population is declining and is considered vulnerable because they are losing their habitat due to climate change and melting ice. What is worse, scientists think they might become extinct in the coming years.
How to Celebrate International Polar Bear Day
It doesn’t matter how old you are, your marital status, or your profession. We all have the power to make a difference if we get together with a common goal. Now, if we are parents or teachers of preschoolers, we can encourage that little person to love and desire to protect this magnificent species.
You can do many things on a personal level and as a parent or teacher of preschoolers. Some ideas are:
- Read your children’s books about polar bears. Below, you will find a list of my favorites.
- Create lesson plans for your classroom or homeschool that include activities about polar bears.
- Learn and teach facts about polar bears and do other activities in your classroom or at home. Use the free pack provided below. If you want specific information about polar bear moms and cubs, check the Polar Bears International favorite facts.
- Show your children and invite your families to watch videos about polar bears. These are some examples:
- Express your concerns, familiarize yourself with the local and national representatives who are trying to control or eliminate the causes of environmental damage, and give them your support.
- Promote International Polar Bear Day through your social media profiles and posts, and join others in the conversation. These are some of the links you can use:
Twitter: @PolarBears
Facebook: @PolarBearsInternational
Instagram: @polarbearsinternational
Short link for social media: bit.ly/intlpolarbearday
Hashtags: #PolarBearDay, #ProtectMomsandCubs, #TalkAboutlt, #WeSupportPolar Bears, and #InternationalPolarBear Day
- Start reducing your use of carbon at home by turning off lights, walking or using your bicycle for short distances, disconnecting electronics when they are not being used, etc.
- Donate to Polar Bears International (PBI) or any other organization that protects polar bears. Even a little bit of money makes a difference.
- Watch Polar Bears International (PBI) live events. Their schedule includes live chats, a special film screening, and behind-the-scenes questions and answers.
- Join the “Protect Moms and Cubs Challenge” fundraiser and invite your preschoolers, friends, family, and colleagues to join you.
Books About Polar Bears
These are some of my favorite books about polar bears. If you don’t have any available, you can go to your local library or a used bookstore and use my links in the pictures to get them from Amazon quickly. Get as many as possible, read them to your preschoolers, and fill your library and centers.
- Over in the Arctic: A Polar Baby Animal Counting Book by Marianne Berkes features baby animals from the Arctic habitat.
- Polar Bear Island by Lindsay Bonilla is a cute story about a bear who doesn’t want to share the island with penguins. It delivers a gentle message of inclusivity.
- All About Polar Bears by EDventure Reading. This book teaches children about polar bears’ bodies, habitats, behaviors, and more through engaging text and beautiful full-color photography.
- Hush Little Polar Bear by Jeff Mack. Children follow the dream of a baby polar bear from the back of a whale to a land of tall grass and happily right back to his bed.
- The Polar Bear’s Home by Lara Bergen is a storybook showing how global warming affects two baby polar bear cubs and their families. It also includes tips for kids on what they can do to help slow global warming.
- Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by Jill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle. This book uses the critical pre-reading concepts of rhyme, rhythm, and repetition to help children read independently.
- Are You a Polar Bear? by Andrew Gabriel. After a long slumber, a polar bear cub wakes in his den to the snowy world outside. There’s no one around, not even his mom, and he can’t remember what she looks like! The little cub journeys out to find her, and along the way, he meets many Arctic creatures that are not like him.
- Polar Bears by Laura Marsh. This book uses fascinating facts and beautiful images to help children learn about polar bears.
- If I Knew a Polar Bear by Karen Sutula is a beautifully illustrated 20-page book that is a fun poem about polar bears and other Arctic animals.
Pin It For Later
If you are in a rush and don’t have time to read the post and download the printable but want to save it for later, pin it to one of your Pinterest boards.
I feel like we, as educators and parents, have to do everything we can to create in our preschoolers the desire to become defenders of the planet and its inhabitants for life so that future generations can get to know and enjoy all existing species.
I hope you enjoy these ideas and that they help you have fun during the International Polar Bear Celebration with your preschoolers. To get the FREE pack, just click the link below and enter your information for an immediate download.
Be happy, safe, and creative. I wish you well.
Love,
P.D. Please let me know if any of these ideas worked for you or if you think I need to add or replace something. My goal is to help you in any way I can.
