How to Run a Teddy School

Scheduling Classes

Decide which grade you will teach your teddy bear(s). Ask yourself, "What grade will I teach to my teddies? Kindergarten? First grade? Even second or third grade?". If you write formally, which includes a wikiHow article, you write first, second and third out in full. If it's texting your friends, you can write 1st, 2nd and 3rd. There's a lesson for your teddy bears.

Choose what classes you will hold. Do you want to teach your teddies to read, write and count? Math? What about spelling? Create a lesson plan. Plan out which subjects you are teaching on which days. You could have English, maths, science, P.E, fashion (if they are Build-a-Bears), handwriting, art, history and geography. Your choice!

Decide the recess and lunch times. When will they be and how long will they go for. This is just as important as the classes. Create a timetable to stick to. Include break times, lunchtimes and assembly times.Run a Teddy School Step 5.jpg Consider creating a canteen (or tuck/food shop) for your teddy bears. During recess and lunch breaks, you could organize some food for your teddies. Provide toilet times and outdoor play sessions. Your teddies will grow bored if they have to work all day!Run a Teddy School Step 8.jpg

Organizing School Supplies

Have an exercise book for each one of your teddy bear students. If you have lots of spare exercise books lying around in your house, you can give them maths books and writing books.

Ask your family if they have any shoe boxes. The teddies can put their possessions inside. If not, have a small tub or pencil case so that they can get stuff if they need to.

Give each teddy a pencil, rubber, sharpener and a ruler each. Then they don't need to ask each time they want something. You may want to have a small pencil case in the front of the room so each individual teddy doesn't need one.

Make worksheets for each subject and photocopy it to match the amount of teddies you will teach. Gather pencils, pens, rulers, rubbers and sharpener, supplying one for each teddy. Alternatively, give them a pencil each and get them to share the other supplies.

Have uniforms. If you can, create a school uniform for your teddies. Make sure it is not too fancy otherwise you might get frustrated trying to make enough for the teddies. Near enough will do, or you could even imagine they have uniforms. If you choose to have school uniform, provide mufti (non-uniform/casual clothes) days, pajama days, and dress-up days.Run a Teddy School Step 10.jpg

Setting Up for Class

Set up the classroom. Find an empty wardrobe, a spare room or even just a corner of your bedroom. Set up tubs or thick books to be used as desks. It's okay if the room on hand isn't too roomy! Find someplace like the corner of your room if you have a small class, or find an empty guest room for a huge class. If you like, you can make a wall out of cardboard and cut a door in it, but, this is optional.

Get a chalkboard and some chalk or a whiteboard and some markers. If you don't have either of the boards already, use paper instead. You can buy a cheap board on sale during back-to-school time. You can even make your own whiteboard. Find plain sheets of paper and laminate them. Use whiteboard markers to draw on them. It will be easy to wipe off the markers with simply, just a tissue or cloth.

Running the Teddy School

Decide how many teddies will be attending your school. Knowing how many teddies you want in your school will help you set up the area of your school. Try not to have too many teddies as your school will get messy.

Make sure you know which teddies you're going to use. If you find you've forgotten one, introduce them as a new student later.

Make a register for your teddies and tick off their names if they are in. If any are absent, you can make up a symbol for that. Any late-comers should make up time after school or during break time.

Let them introduce each other on their first day. If necessary, organize a 'circle time', where they pass round a special toy and say what you ask, like how they feel, what they did over the holidays, who they already know, etc.

Have breakfast clubs and after-school clubs if you wish. Just make sure your day isn't too hectic.

Keep playing if you have the interest to keep this up. After their first few days, use exercise books for their reading records, and send them home with a book to read. Ask their parents to listen to them and help them if necessary. Don't forget to change them every so often!

Give the teddy bears rewards. If it helps, you can have a color changing system for when they do bad and good stuff. Provide free time and art if they are being good and you have no work left for them to do. Be aware they may need a little help with art though.Run a Teddy School Step 17.jpg

Balance work and play for the teddy bears. Instilling them with a good work ethic is the aim of decent schooling.

End the day with a prize time, where the best-behaved teddy gets a prize. Make sure they all get a prize in the end, or they might get jealous!

Going Home

Set an appropriate home time. Schools can usually end around 3:00 to 3:30pm. You could try even make a day where the teddies go home early. Or, send them home when you're tired of playing school with teddies.

At home-time, make sure each teddy goes home with a grown-up. If a grown-up can't come, bring them to their homes yourself.