B.E.A.R. stands for Bring Everything Always Ready

The idea for B.E.A.R. and other similar books is an idea that has been around for several years, I first heard about it at the teachers.net chatboard in 1999.  These types of books were first known as M.O.O.S.E. books (Management of Organizational Skills Everyday) and the idea has evolved to include a bevy of acronyms.  I began using the B.E.A.R. books in my classroom in 2000 and I have had great success with them ever since.  I hope you and your school families enjoy BEAR books as much as we do. 

 

What are B.E.A.R. books?

Our B.E.A.R. books are one inch three-ring binders that are sent home with each student daily.   I highly recommend using the "Clear View" binders because you can slip in a cover page that will last all year.  I designed my cover page using free bear clipart I found at Microsoft clip gallery.  I included the student's name, school address, and phone number in case the book was ever lost.  You can find the Clear View binders at Wal Mart, but the best deal to be had is at Sam's where you can find the binders in packs of 6 for less than $8.

 

Why use B.E.A.R. books?

Using B.E.A.R. books helps maintain effective communication between home and school.   B.E.A.R. books also help eliminate lost papers and messy backpacks.  In general, the notebooks teach necessary organizational skills to children at an early age and help the parent stay organized at the same time.  Often, if parents have more than one child it is difficult to keep up with all the notes, papers, and homework that are sent home on a daily basis, B.E.A.R. helps with this problem. 

 

What do you put inside the B.E.A.R. books?

B.E.A.R. books can contain various items according to your needs:

 

	A zippered pouch to hold money that is sent to school for lunch, field trips, Scholastic book orders etc.  These can be found at Wal-Mart during the Back to School sales for only .10 cents each.
	Welcome Letter explaining the purpose of the B.E.A.R. book and how it all works.
	Weekly Newsletter, just three-hole punch them on the copy machine first.
	A copy of our class list, various purposes.
	Reading Log for parents to sign.
	Monthly Calendar
	School year calendar with dates of all school holidays and important events.
	Skill sheets, such as charts of ABC's, numbers, colors, and shapes for homework practice; print on cardstock, laminate for durability, and three-hole punch.
	A pencil in the zippered pouch so parents always have something to write with.  You have to train the children to NOT take the pencil out though :)
	Blank notebook paper in the back for parent/teacher communication.   Parents can write notes to and from school, or the teacher can write notes to the parent.
	Behavior sheet if you use choose to use one.

 

How often do you send the B.E.A.R. books home?

 I began sending home the B.E.A.R. books daily this year for the first time.  I used to send them home only on Friday, but I discovered that there was ALWAYS something that needed to go home urgently before then. 

 

When do you find time to check the B.E.A.R. books?

It is best to look at the B.E.A.R. books first thing in the morning because you never know what will happen the rest of the day, you may end up not having enough time later.   I look at my B.E.A.R. books while my students are doing their journals first thing in the morning.  It only takes a few minutes once you get used to it and know exactly where to check for notes, money etc.

 

What are the other acronyms for B.E.A.R. books?

Click on the following link to Jan's site to see a complete list of over 100 different acronyms:  Almost Heaven B.E.A.R. books

 

How do you fund the B.E.A.R. books?

There are several options for funding B.E.A.R. books.  The most obvious option is putting the notebook and zipper pouch on your supply list and the parents will buy it.   However, this is not an option for everybody and some teachers have had success in asking for Wal-Mart grants to pay for everything.   I was fortunate enough to have some parents buy the notebooks (about half) and a very generous parent gave us a donation that paid for the other half of the notebooks.  Still other teachers have held fundraisers to pay for the notebooks.  I pay for the zipper pouches myself since they are on sale for only ten cents each at the beginning of the school year.  "When there's a will there's a way..."

*note* I was unable to find the zippered pouches at Wal Mart this year for .10 cents, if you were able to find them please let me know!