Bears in the Mountains: A Homeschool Unit Study

Learn about bears in the mountains anytime of year. Snuggle up with some good books, hot chocolate and pretend you aren't hibernating... yet! This darling unit was a favorite from our autumn term and is perfect for winter.We started by taking a hike on a local trail that intersects with the migration path of our local Black Bear population (although we've never seen any). We looked for signs of bears, but saw none. Phew!After coming home and filling bellies, we settled down with the reading selections from this unit as well as some titles from our shelves. We particularly loved "Blueberries for Sal” by Robert McCloskey (a classic!) and my youngest discovered “Corduroy” by Don Freeman. We're huge fans of Winnie-the-Pooh and were happy to add his adventures to our reading. We added some charming books from my childhood written by Molly Brett, such as "The Forgotten Bear" and “The Jumble Bear."

Unit Study Planning Tip: Check your shelves for any titles on the list, pull anything related, and then hit your library website for anything lacking.

Take advantage of Alexandra's handy QR code. Our library is quarantining returned books for 72 hours, making it hard to locate materials in a timely manner. Use those QR codes for books you can't get!As always, the baking was a crowd pleaser! We ate our Cinnamon Bears as part of our usual poetry tea time (A.A. Milne poetry). We're planning a "hibernation" teddy bear tea this winter. Who doesn't want to have tea with teddy bears in a snow cave? As a homeschool mama of 5 (age 2-14), I absolutely love the addition of anything that encourages literacy for more than one age group/skill level. Poetry word hunts were perfect for my beginner reader and still appropriate for my older elementary kids.Teaching multiples ages with one unit can be tricky, but The Masterpiece Studio units were built with that in mind. I love that! My oldest even joins in for the baking and art and can be tasked with assisting my youngest participant.

We used the artist study as we would in our Charlotte Mason co-op.

Study the art piece for one minute, then either draw from memory or directly from the piece.

I like to challenge my older kiddos to recreate the piece from memory.A unit study like this can be as simple or as intense as you’d like it to be. Make it your entire curriculum for the week (add your own resources for older kids if necessary) or one day of themed fun. The true beauty of homeschooling is the freedom to make it what you need and want.We’d love to see how you’ve used this unit in your homeschool! Especially if you’re able to host a snowy teddy bear tea party.Have fun with scissors and glue and bears too,~Sara *This Bears in the Mountains unit pairs well with the new Adventures in Russia study!