Homeschooling with The Life of the Sleeping Bear
By Helene Rimer
Sun contributor
Are you home with children/students during the pandemic lockdown and wondering how to have a positive, educational experience that is fun for the whole family? The Life of the Sleeping Bear provides hours of entertaining and educational reading. Filled with iconic photos, little-known facts, and stories, it is both delightful and engaging. Its artistry makes it a wonderful book for casual enjoyment, as well as for more educational purposes.
Students and their parents can easily use the book chapters as stand-alone lessons enhanced with online learning during a stay-at-home schooling time. The book was created by the Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The book can be ordered online at LifeOfTheSleepingBear.com. Or find it at your local bookshop.
Begin your family Sleeping Bear educational adventure with the legend of the Sleeping Bear as told by the Anishinaabe on page 109. After reading the story, talk about the legend and tell other bear folk tales you know. For young children, retell Goldilocks and the Three Bears. What is the same between the stories? (Both have three bears and both have wonderful bear parents who care about their cubs.) Can you think of other similarities?
For older students, read the Just So Stories, by Rudyard Kipling. These stories are retold from Kipling’s travels and adventures in India. Think and talk about how Kipling’s stories of the Time of Very Beginnings have similar themes to the First People story of how the dune and islands were created.
Students of all ages are encouraged to write their own “How” story. Examples are “How my dog got brown ears” or “How the raccoon got his mask.” The youngest students can dictate the story for you to write on the pages and then add colorful illustrations. Older students are encouraged to write and illustrate their own stories. Family reading time is a great time to share everyone’s new stories.
For the older students to think and talk about is Britain’s controversial 19th century worldview as exemplified by some of Kipling’s writing.
Next read “Mother Bear is Migrating” on pages 110-111. It recounts the timeline of the forming and changes of the dunes and islands, shaped by wind and man. Talk about how we name other natural places by their attributes, such as Alligator Hill, or Old Baldy. Think about areas you have visited and brainstorm new names for the locations that describe how they look. You can even name cloud formations as you lie on the grass on a lovely afternoon.
Here in the Northern Lower peninsula, the black bear population is growing and so, then, is our chance of interaction. Students can learn how to identify the signs of bear activity, understand their behaviors, and find out how to protect the bears’ attempts to stay hidden and safe. This is quite a feat, while lumbering around in their giant fur coat, while the size of a golf cart!
The 4-7 year old student can address language arts, math, and science goals on the nps.gov website under Explore and Learn for Educators. The lesson, “Which Bear” describes different types of bears, their shapes, sizes, tracks, and food, including our native black bear characteristics and their food preferences. More information is also available at the National Park’s website.
The young student can study a map of the United States and look at the regions that have bears. Discuss how other animals, water, and vegetation help them in those areas. Look at your area. What are favorite bear foods found there? Grasses, ferns, berries, or nuts may be popular on the bear menu. But, they eat most anything! “The Bear Essentials” lesson on the Nps.gov website offers interesting habitat, life cycle, and human activity information.
The Department of Natural Resources has website information about co-existing with bears, to protect their habitat and their ability to be around humans. We rarely have a bear problem that is not a human problem, attracting them intentionally or by neglect. The results may be a bear that becomes aggressive in searching for human food and needs to be relocated or killed.
To avoid this problem, help the student be a detective and go on a bear-food hunt that could attract a bear to your car, house, porch, or garage. Include bird feeders, pet food, and grills. Put them securely away or have alternatives such as flowers rather than seed to attract birds until hibernation time. A fun, family activity is to use items you have at home to design your own bear proof garbage can!
There are many jump-off topics for older students including a history of how bears were perceived in literature, the arts, and current lore. Alternately, they may discover more about wildlife management issues, securing crops from predation, sustainable development practices that protect habitat, and promoting bear population stability.
The Sleeping Bear, the symbol of our valiant matriarch, is still keeping a sandy vigil from her hilltop, looking over her island cubs. There is yet much to explore and appreciate about this fascinating animal and the places we share.
Driving through the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive is one of the most popular activities for the over one and a half million Park visitors each year. The stories and photos in the book will be reminders of why visiting the Drive often becomes a tradition that never disappoints, as there is always something new to discover in the changing landscape. The book is invaluable as a guide book that can be used to enhance the trip when visiting the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, as it follows the eleven wayside panels along the 7-mile route, describing natural formations, human history, and animal life. It makes a great at-home reading and learning experience to be shared by the whole family.
The Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes’ mission is to protect resources and heighten visitor experiences in partnership with Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Created in 1994, the Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes has blossomed into a robust, sustainable 501(c)3 organization with over 800 members who, in 2019, raised $133,000 in grants and donations and reported 13,689 volunteer hours in direct support of the National Lakeshore. For more information visit FriendsOfSleepingBearDunes.org.
Helene Rimer is a retired medical social worker who enjoys sharing her love of the Sleeping Bear Dunes with others through her writing. She can be reached at book@friendsofsleepingbear.org.
This story was sponsored by Northwoods Hardware.
