play with sounds – A Bear Hunt

If you are having fun with your homemade musical instruments you might like to perform this sound story – We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. 

If you aren’t familiar with the story the video is a presentation of the story by Michael Rosen, who has written a picture book version of this story. 


You can act and sound out this story in a similar manner to the video.  For the chorus and each verse and adult can lead and children can copy each phrase.  For example (children in italics),

We’re going on a bear hunt,
We’re going on a bear hunt,
We’re going to catch a big one,
We’re going to catch a big one,
We’re not scared,
We’re not scared,
What a beautiful day.
What a beautiful day.

You might like to accompany this with patting on the knees.

For each place that they visit in the story there is an accompanying sound as they walk through.  Can you can find an instrument or other way to make each sound?

You  might try,

For walking through the grass – swishy swashy – try rubbing your feet on the carpet or gently shaking a maraca from side to side

For walking through the water – splash splosh – try shaking a water bottle

For walking through the mud – squelch squerch – try blowing a ‘raspberry’ or slowly letting air out of a balloon

For walking through the forest – stumble trip – try clapping sticks

For walking through the snowstorm – hooo wooo – try blowing into a wind instrument or across the top of a glass bottle.

Make up ideas for other parts of the story - perhaps a drumroll as they notice the bear.

The sound words in this story – swishy swashy, hooo wooo and so on – are examples of onomatopeia.  Onomatopeia are words that mimic the sound that you hear. 

Kids might like to look for other examples of onomatopeia.  You could find some in other stories, the song ‘Old MacDonald’ or in comic books.