Classroom mascot

leighbball · #1 06-15-2009, 06:56 PM

I am thinking about having a classroom mascot next year to go home on weekends with the kids, etc. I know a few of the K classes in my school do it...do you think the 1st graders are too old for it or would it be a good activity to continue even if some of them have had it in K?

Opinions wanted!

TeacherShelly · #2 06-15-2009, 07:03 PM

I think first graders would love it! Not too old at all.

lemonhead · #3 06-15-2009, 07:26 PM

A teacher at my school does it. He is from build a bear and goes home in a special backpack each weekend. He goes home with a binder/ scrapbook where kids can add pictures of themselves with dotty. I think they take him home for the whole week. Not sure. I can find out more if you like.

Her kids love it. Some buy new clothes for him. He has been to a ton of places.

leighbball · #4 06-15-2009, 07:40 PM

Ooooh....Build a Bear is a great idea. Thanks Lemon!

cmgeorge626 · #5 06-16-2009, 08:30 AM

I did it a couple of years ago. I tied it in with my "Student of the Week" and the kids loved it. We had a little owl that was holding a pencil (we named her Hootsie). I wrote a generic letter explaining what to do and fastened it to the front of a spiral with contact paper.

The kids loved hearing what their classmates did with Hootsie over the weekend. My fave was a picture of a little boy holding her while he rode a mechanical bull!

I quit doing it only because it was another thing to try to remember - you'll probably be better at that than I was!

smalltowngal · #6 06-16-2009, 10:00 AM

Sounds like a great idea, leigh, and I know the kids will love it!

amersk · #7 06-16-2009, 10:34 AM

cmgeorge- what did you include in the letter and contract. I am a first year first grade teacher and I think I am doing a jungle theme this year. I wanted to do something very similiar. I was going to get a stuffed elephant (because of the big ears and jungle theme) and send it home in a back pack with a student each week. During that week they need to read to it (to work on their fluency) and write a journal entry in a classbook in the backpack about what they did with the stuffed animal (to work on their writing). I like the idea of having a scrapbook page where they can add pictures.

leighbball · #8 06-16-2009, 10:37 AM

Thanks everyone

I think I am going to use my penguin from Build a Bear. I'm excited!

Jem · #9 06-16-2009, 11:38 AM

I think it was Build a Bear that had a dinosaur that looked JUST like Lizzie from Magic School Bus. I bought her at Space Camp, with a space suit. I was going to dress her up in different science outfits (lab coat, etc.), but never got to it. You could dress the mascot up in outfits that go with what you're learning about, and put activities in the bag that match the outfit.

cmgeorge626 · #10 06-17-2009, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amersk

cmgeorge- what did you include in the letter and contract.

I just wrote a title for the journal, something like "The Adventures of Hootsie the Owl." Then wrote a letter to parents explaining that their child had earned the privilege of taking Hootsie home because they were chosen "Student of the Week." I explained that they'd earned this honor because they had good behavior, etc. I asked the parents to help their child write a short entry about what they'd done with Hootsie over the weekend and either draw or tape a picture of their child with Hootsie at the bottom of the page. I asked them to return the journal and Hootsie to school on Monday so that their child could read it to the class.