TEACHERS TAKE NOTE

The Very Best Bed

Rebekah Raye

Hardcover, $16.95, ISBN 978-0-88448-284-0

9 x 10, 32 pages, color illustrations

Children / Nature: PreK-Grade 3

The Very Best Bed is both a charming bedtime story and a factually correct depiction of the sleeping habits of a variety of wild animals. Educators of young children now recognize the importance of developmentally appropriate nature education as an enriching part of daily lives of children. Connecting children with the natural world through picture books can help them aquire a sense of refuge and healing in a sometimes frightening world. By teaching children from an early age about the power of the natural world, educators can start to promote an environmental ethic and a sense of shared community in even the youngest children.

Blue Hill artist Rebekah Raye also did a marvelous set of illustrations for the book Thanks To The Animals, by Alan Sockabasin (Tilbury House). While working on that book she began visualizing this story! To see more of her work you can visit her web site at www.rebekahraye.com. Ask children what they think her life is like as an artist.

The Very Best Bed will help inspire classroom conversations about:

• The sleeping habits of wild animals
• The value of sleep and rest for people—of all ages!
• Animal habitats
• The loss of wildlife habitats and development

Additional Books

Everybody's Somebody's Lunch: A children's picture book by Cherie Mason, illustrated by Gustav Moore, published by Tilbury House.

When a young girl's cat disappears, she suspects it's been eaten by a predator. But as she starts to learn about predators, she learns that there are no "bad" animals and realizes that "everybody's somebody's lunch." Teacher's guide available. Click on this title in the book page sidebar for more information.

Activity: Animal Guessing Game

(Adapted from A Celebration of Maine Children's Books, by Lynn Plourde.)

• Research each of the animals in the story. Then draw a simple chart with facts about each animal. For example, for a beaver the chart might show in words and/or pictures:
  • A beaver cuts down trees with its teeth
  • A beaver lives in a lodge
  • A beaver slaps its flat tail on the water to warn of danger
• Then play a guessing game about the chart with a friend. For example, one of you might say, "I'm thinking about an animal that hangs upside down in trees or caves. Which one is it?" Use the chart to help you find the answer (bat).
• Continue with more turns. "I'm thinking of the animal that has a beak (duck)."

Activity: Making My Nest

People don't actually hibernate, but many reduce their activity and spend more time indoors during the short winter days. Invite children to imagine that they do hibernate.

• Invite children to imagine that they do hibernate.
• What will they use to line their nests?
• What kinds of supplies will they store up for a long winter's rest? Nuts and seeds and berries like the chipmunk? Or . . .?
• What will they keep on hand for wakeful times when it's too cold to go outdoors?
• Provide students with paper plates, fabric or paper strips, store catalogs, sales flyers, and magazines.
• Then ask them to create personal winter nests by gluing the strips inside the plate and adding pictures of selected items to line their nests.
• During a sharing time, invite children to tell the class about their nests and why they chose some of the items in them.

Activity: Classroom Hibernation

During your unit, reserve some class time for students to "slow down" and take a short winter's rest.

• Appoint a special day and encourage students to bring in pillows, slippers, snack crackers, juice boxes, and favorite books, puzzles, or quiet games.
• Stock your class library with books about animals that hibernate, as well as other topics of interest to children.
• Then allow students to find a quiet private area in the room to "nest" during their hibernation.
• They can line their nests with snacks, personal items, and books from the class shelves.
• As they snuggle down, invite children to quietly engage in individual activities or to just put their heads down for a peaceful winter nap.

Activity: A Place to Rest Mural

In the weeks before hibernation or dormancy, animals prepare their winter beds. Where do they sleep during this time?

• To help students find out, ask them to brainstorm a list of hibernating animals, then select and research an animal from the list.
• Instruct them to write on note cards how their animals prepare their hibernation homes.
  • Do they build nests?
  • Dig burrows?
  • Store away food?
  • Hibernate alone or with others?
• As students complete their research, invite them to create a winter mural by drawing their animals in their hibernation homes on bulletin board paper.
• Students can then add mounds of snow, icicles, and other winter scenery.
• After each student has had a chance to share his or her fact card with the class, attach it to the mural near the appropriate animal.