• The bear is the inspiration for children's crafts.bear image by Mat Hayward from Fotolia.com
  
  If your children like bears, lead them in a craft project that uses paper plates to make a bear. There are many types of bears, but let your children interpret their own version of the bear from what they have read or seen about bears in books or on television. Encourage each participant to give his bear a name. At the end of the project, allow each child to tell you about his bear and the characteristics he chose for the bear.
  
  

Brown Bear

• Paint one large paper plate and two small paper plates with brown craft paint, advises the free website Making Learning Fun. Allow the plates to dry. Cut one of the small paper plates in half, and attach the halves to the top right and left sides of the large paper plate with craft glue. These are the brown bear's ears. Glue the second paper plate just below the center of the large paper plate. This is the bear's snout. Glue a pair of wiggly eyes, which you can buy at a craft store, onto the large paper plate, and add a black pom pom for the nose.
  
  

Polar Bear

• Make a polar bear out of three white paper plates, writes the free children's craft website Danielle's Place. To make the polar bear's body, glue two large paper plates together, matching the ridged edges to create a body with dimension. Cut a V-shape from the edge to the center of a small paper plate. Bring the remaining edges together so that the plate forms a slight cone, and secure with glue. Glue wiggly eyes on the cone plate, and draw the bear's nose and mouth with a black marker. Cut out two white circles from card stock, and glue to the sides of the cone head. These are the ears. Print out the template for the arms and legs from Danielle's Place, and glue onto the polar bear's body. Glue head to body.
  
  

Panda Bear

• Design a panda bear mask from a white paper plate, offers the free craft website Kaboose. To do this, start with one large white paper plate as your base. Use a black marker to color two large black "eye spots" and to draw the panda's nose and mouth. Cut out two circles from black construction paper, and glue them to the top right and left sides of the large paper plate. These are the panda's ears. Punch a hole in each of the black eye spots, and use scissors to cut ovals large enough for one's eyes. Punch a hole on both sides of the paper plate, and tie two strings of yarn through the holes. Tie on the mask.