Shhhh! Don't Wake Up the Bear!

It's Friday at Hogarth, which means it's Election Day. To go with a hibernation unit we started in PK and CPG this week, children in both classes read Old Bear by Kevin Henkes and Don't Wake Up the Bear! written by Marjorie Dennis Murray and illustrated by Patricia Wittman. Don't Wake Up the Bear! has just the right amount of tension to keep preschoolers on the edges of their little seats. Let me tell you, Murray gives preschoolers as much of a thrill as Stephen King gives grown-ups. I'll let the CPG Kids speak for themselves.

Zephan: I was scared of the mouse that waked up. I was scared when the bear waked up. It chased the mice. He found something to eat. Berries.

Delaney Roache: The fox was scared of the bear. The mouse slept in the bear's ear. They said, "Don't wake up!" Somebody woke him up.

Emma: The mouse woke up the bear with a KERCHOO! He woke up and he was angry and he had to get something to eat.

Cooper: The bear waked up because all the animals were on him. He chaseded them.

Killian: The rabbit said, "Don't wake up the bear." They sleeped with him.

Samuel: The bear was sleeping and the bad wolf came in to sleep. What is that? [Me: It's a badger.] Oh, a badger. What's a badger do? Look it! Here comes a wolf! What is that? [Me: It's a fox.] It's a fox! He didn't still wake up. That mouse is in his ear. Look! He waked up! He said, ROAR! Look he's eating some berries. I loved this story. I need to read it. (Samuel leafed through the book again, reenacting the story as he went.)

Patrick: He waked up the bear. The mouse. The bear was mad. He made a mad face.

Camryn H.: A bear was sleeping. Then a hare came along and he wished he could snuggle with that bear. Then he did. Then a fox, then something else, I don't know. What is it? [Me: A badger.] Then the mouse came along. Then the hare said, "Don't wake up the bear!"

Cameron W.: The mouse sneezeded. Then they ran away.

Delaney Riley: Don't wake up the bear!

So how did the elections turn out this week at Hogarth? Don't Wake Up the Bear won CPG Top Book today with 6 votes to Old Bear's 4.

 

In PK, Top Book was Old Bear with 6 votes over Don't Wake Up the Bear! with 5 votes. Those were both pretty close races, if you ask me.

 

To go along with this week's EK lessons on letter Pp and number 3, the EK kids read The Three Pigs by David Wiesner and Pigsty by Mark Teague. The Three Pigs was elected Top Book by a 9 to 5 landslide.

 

Again, we had that little bit of tension with Wiesner's version. When the wolf actually ate the pig, there was an audible gasp from a few of the kids. (Not to worry, folks. The pigs ultimately emerged unscathed from the book. Literally.)