Guest Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 I want to set it up so that our class bear goes home and visits the children for weekends/holidays/special occassions. Just wondering how other people have done this and also how they have explained it to parents. I'd like to encourage the children to write a diary or something. If you do this what do you expect of children/parents- I don't want parents to freak out! I want it to be a really useful and motivating experience for all concerned! Thanks x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 (edited) My daughter brought the class bear home years ago. He had a "passport" which we completed and dated to say where he'd been. His passport contained photos of places he'd previously visited or events he'd participated in - holidays, the school Nativity, trips to the park, the Botanical gardens etc. He also had a little suitcase into which you could pop a souvenir or memento. These were displayed in Nursery in his own corner. He had a calendar there where you could book him out for visits. We took him to Blackpool for the finals of the National Dance competitions and photographed him on the dance floor of the Tower Ballroom! My daughter still remembers him! Nona Edited March 10, 2010 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_3139 Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 Take a look in the gallery at the photos the FSF bear has had taken. He's been travelling since 2005 and had loads of adventures. It might give you some ideas. YOu can buy a teddy passport for about £4.00 online. If you manage to find a small suitcase please let me know, i've searched the internet but only found one taht comes with a Steiff bear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 Hi I set up Floppy Bunny for my reception class, he just goes home with his diary which includes a note to the parents and the children or parents write his diary ad add pics or photos. He has been to Ibiza with teh Thompson crew and sat in the pilots seat, to Lapland to see Santa, and lots of other places. I really like the idea of a passprot and suitcase for souviners I might add that! Good luck with it Julie x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 Suitcases here..... http://www.bramleybymail.com/products?cid=3 (I love encouraging others to spend their money! ) Nona Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 We have a bear that goes for a week with each child and the point is taking care of him and putting something about what he has done in his book. It was the most wonderful thing and he had been to picnics, sleepovers, the dentist, Oktodberfest in Germany, Japanese club etc etc Sadly one parent decided to make copies of pictures of other people's children and put them up on Facebook which caused a stink, understandably. So now the bear goes without all the lovely information about other people which was the most wonderful thing about it. Again if it wasn't for the parents.....! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 oh no jane that is awful, whats wrong with some people?! we have a monkey called cando because he really loves it when people say they can do somethings and when he is not gpoing home at the weekend he sits in our class but we have to be careful not to say we cant do something because it makes him feel really sad : ( the passport is a loely idea x x x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 Hi I am a reception teacher. We have Billy the bear who my class absolutely adore. He is very central to class life and goes home with a different child each weekend. He has a little back pack with a letter - addressed to the child, but with information for the parents. I introduce him to our parents at the September welcome meeting that we have and explain to parents then that Billy will be coming to visit at some point and that the main purpose is for building self confidence and rather than children bringing things to show and tell. Of course it is also for taking responsibility. Every Monday morning the child who has taken him home brings in a small momento of something that they have done with Billy to share with the rest of the class. Some children bring photos, pictures, 'writing'. Some children love to chat about what they have done together whilst others would rather I showed whatever they have brought in. We then put these special memories in a big book which lives in the information section of our reading area and I have to say is the most popular book that we have. The children also love to write to Billy so he also has a special book of cards and letters that also lives in our reading area. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 We are a preschool and have a bear. He goes home with a different child each week and then children pre ask for him if they have a birthday party, holiday, day out planned etc. We have also has weddings!!!!. When we dicided to start the activity we sent letters home to parents outlining the aim of the acivity i.e working in partnership, giving the children ownership etc..... I then devised a sheet that goes in the box (build a bear) and it says Hello im WIlliam and in this box are my treasures we put passport, toothbrush, blanket, sunglasses, sun cream (empty bottle) hair brush we list them and then we have added I am really looking forward to spending time with your family and the adventures i am going to have. Could you please write in my travel log my experiences with you and enclose some photos of my exciting time with you. Thankyoufor looking after me Love Williamxxx The box has also got a photo album in it of his previous travels. At our setting it has got quite competitive and one parent was organising a space party for thier child and designed a complete album of phots, space info ect for us to share with the children. We share the experiences at circle time and we have a laminated poster on the wall on titled "who's looking after William?" and the children help write thier name on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_3139 Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 Suitcases here..... http://www.bramleybymail.com/products?cid=3 (I love encouraging others to spend their money! ) Nona You must be very happy then nona, mines spent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 Nona Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 Oooh Rea, what size did you go for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_3139 Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 Well when it came to ordering there was only tiny or small and there was only one choice of colour too. But its not for me so I wasnt so particular about colour. I ordered the small 25cm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 our bear is called freddy and is in the form of a back pack complete with a pocket for his book to tell us about his adventures! he has just come back from bulgaria where he went on a pink plane!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_3401 Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 I buy a new bear each year from Tescos (as by the end of the year and even with several washes they looked worse for wear!) and I invested in a school uniform, a change of clothes and some pjs from The Bear Factory. I write to the children before they start school and tell them about the bear and ask them to think of a name for him, we have a vote and a naming ceremony on the first day in school so from the beginning he is a very special bear. Each weekend he goes home with a child and the family write in a diary, this year he has dressed up as spiderman, drunk daddy's beer, kept the whole family awake with his snoring, been on several outings and been to nearly all the children's birthday parties. He has learnt how to make soup, cakes, rake leaves and gone to football practice. On the downside he isn't very good on the Wii and was a sore loser. He also went into hospital with me ( the children's request!) where he got a sticker, theatre cap and mask for being so good in theatre! ( I got some strange looks in the hospital but the staff were fantastic!) His wardrobe is now huge as grandmas keep knitting and we are already on our second diary! I think he is one of the most important members of the class and it is wonderful to see the looks on the children's faces ( and then their parents) when it is there turn. S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 We have 'Discovery Dog' in our class who loves to discover and the chn themselves suggested she went home with them so she wouldn't be lonely when we aren't there. The chn have donated all sorts of baby clothes, slippers, combs etc and now has a bag full of stuff that is bigger than the dog itself! We take it in turns every night to take it home and are on our 2nd cycle now. The first time the parents just wrote in the book what they had done etc- some put photos other simply wrote. this time they choose a game from the dog's box to take home and play and not sure what element to add next time- any ideas gratefully recieved! A word of advice if you feel parents won't know what to write etc- choose the first few chn carefully in order to get some good examples for others to follow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_8466 Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 I think Sharon's system is just lovely - I really like the way you've included children from the start! missc I'd love to know more about your Discovery Dog and how you use him in your classroom. How lovely that the children thought about him being lonely and wanting to take him home! I agree with you about choosing the first children carefully - some parents can feel totally intimidated by this kind of activity, whilst others are complete overachievers! Maz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 Thanks guys for your fantastic replies. I'm off to sort out Timothy bear's suitcase and belongs so he can start visiting this week. We're going on a class trip this week, so I might do an entry in his diary to give them a bit of an idea. Thanks again for your ideas. x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 What super ideas i am going to revamp Candos bag! Cant wait for my new budget to get a suitcase! We have all been banned from spending any money! boo hoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 missc I'd love to know more about your Discovery Dog and how you use him in your classroom. How lovely that the children thought about him being lonely and wanting to take him home! I agree with you about choosing the first children carefully - some parents can feel totally intimidated by this kind of activity, whilst others are complete overachievers!Maz When she comes back we read her diary and the child who had him last night talks about what they got up to. Now and again-almost every week in fact- she has 'a question' or something she wants to 'discover'. For example she wanted to know which things in her box would float/sink so we devised a way to help her find out and she wanted to know what the jelly in our tuff tray felt like but couldn't go in because she would get sticky so we all had a turn then described it for her and told her what we thought of it! The chn get really excited when they see her golden envelope on my chair cos they know we are going to be doing some finding out for her! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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