Bears Ahoy! Early Years Board Game

Zip File Contents

1. Board in 2 parts: Start & Finish.
2. Six double-sided bear counters in various colours.
3. Chunky dice to match counters.
4. Bases for counters to stand on.

Purpose of Game
This game follows a format similar to that of a pace race,
wherein turn-taking and a sense of fair play is emphasised
in a learning activity.

Players take it in turns to roll the dice. The coloured bear
that lands face up is moved on one place until a bear reaches
the finish.  These squares are represented by a variety of
different types of home.

The game allows children to experience the fun of a competitive
game, without the associated 'winner' and 'loser' tags.  They
can discuss and try to guess which bear will reach the finish
line first.

The board has been designed to provide a number of discussion 
points and frames of reference as play progresses. 

Along the lower edge of the board, there are a number of different
locations in Portsmouth that children will be familiar. This 
allows the children to talk about what they do when they visit 
the various locations and to imagine that the bears really are
tearing around their hometown!

At the end of the board are the bears' homes. These present a
range of types of home and will stimulate discussion among
the children about the types of homes they live in and are
aware of.

It would be relatively simple for you to replace the locations
and homes on the board with those familiar to where you live.
By focusing on places that the children will be familiar with,
conversation and a greater sense of relation can be encouraged.