It was my youngest granddaughter’s turn to take Buddy bear home from school for the weekend.
The idea behind Buddy bear is that every child in the class gets a turn to have the bear spend time with them at home, parents are asked to document what Buddy has done and to take a few photographs.
On return to school the class get to talk about Buddy’s adventures.
Sophia, age 6, was really excited about taking Buddy home and wanted to take him everywhere , even when her dad was just taking the dog to the garden for a toilet break!
Buddy did enjoy his visit to the children’s play park , plus he saw the sea when they took him to the coast
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I can see huge benefits in having a Buddy bear as part of a class.
When I was a child we had a pet hamster in our classroom, children took it in turns to take him home during the school holidays.
I vividly recall one unfortunate child who when it was her turn, the creature died. It wasn’t her fault, the animal was elderly and died of old age, but I don’t even want think about how awful this must have made her feel.
I can also see that with Buddy bear the children may all want to outdo one another, some children may be lucky enough to go abroad and have fantastic tales to tell and photos to share, imagine how the child who had a wet weekend in a tent is going to feel. This could still be used as an an opportunity for children to realise that not everyone has amazing holidays and it still gives a topic of conversation for the class when the children return, so it’s not really such a negative point, on the whole.
I wish that I had thought of having a Buddy bear when I was working as a registered child minder. It would have provided me with endless opportunities for promoting learning with the children, I would have suggested that he send a postcard from his travels for me to put on my notice board, among other things.
There is a website for Buddy bear if anyone is interested in getting him.
I would be interested to hear if others have had a Buddy bear come to stay.
As always questions/comments and topic suggestions are welcome.
until next time.
Karen
x
Buddy bear sounds like a lovely idea #Blogstravaganza
Our boys had similar class toys when they were in Reception. It was always good fun having them to stay! Thanks for linking up with #Blogstravaganza
#thesatsesh i know Karen, its great for them – but Frick me, i really don’t need another job to do. Our panda comes home midweek…find something to do, photograph it – print it, make him write something up…secretly wash the bear 😉
We love having school bears come to visit Coombe Mill, they have some great adventures here! #Globalblogging
I love the idea of Buddy Bear visiting and hate when it becomes a contest. #keepingitreal
This is such a cute idea, Ben has really started to get into imaginative play so would love a teddy to take around!
Thank you for sharing this with us at #TriumphantTales. I hope to see you back next week.
Buddy Bear sounds sweet but I have heard some horror stories of competitive parenting with the class bear so I have to confess I am very relived that my kids’ school doesn’t have one! #thesatsesh xx
Oh my gosh, looks like Buddy had a fab time. Your pics are too cute. My nephew recently came to stay with his nursery mascot Bingo. #KidsandKreativity
Yes this brings back memories, I remember when my daughter brought Peter the bear home from pre-school last year. Boy was that an eventful weekend! That bear went everywhere! We had fantastic fun though and we were given a scrapbook to stick our photos into along with a brief description of what Peter got up to. It’s amazing and lovely to see how excited children get about doing this. #GlobalBlogging
It sounds like your little visitor had a great time! #TriumphantTales
The idea of this is wonderful and I know my children really enjoyed when they got to bring the classroom toy home for the weekend and take it special places. I remember taking the photos and then my children would fill out the book that came home with the toy and write and draw about what they got up to! Thank you so much for linking up with us for #ABloggingGoodTime
we have this but the bear comes home for a weekday evening so no pressure on parents and its just things like dancing or swimming or cooking tea #Blogstravaganza
I think it is lovely for the children to be able to explain what they have been doing at home but as a parent I always dread seeing the bag come home with the bear inside! Thanks for linking up with #globalblogging
I don’t think they do this yet in our son’s class but I really love this idea! Much better and less risky than a real, live animal! #BloggerClubUK
My son’s school did this too and he loved it! It was also interesting for him to read about what all of his classmates had got up to with the bear! Great fun! #KidsandKreativity
It’s a great idea. We’ve had ‘Naughty Bus’ home, and the Rainbow’s doll. The kids love it! Thanks again for linking up with #KidsandKreativity. Really hope to see you again next time