The Adventures of 'ittle Bear

With the exception of our first book, which introduces 'ittle Bear, her superpowers, and prepares her for her first trip, all of our country books are written to always include certain educational elements:

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1) A geographic map including the capital, major cities and/or cities referenced in the book, and major geographical features such as lakes, rivers, and mountain ranges.  

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2) A cookie recipe that is child-friendly that is an opportunity both for cooking skills, but also math (counting and measuring.)

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3) A new friend, alternating male and female, who is the national animal (or without an official national animal, one that is strongly associated with the country).  The name of the friend introduces a name from the country that alliterates with the animal name (for example, René Rooster, Siobhan Sheep, Mårten Moose, Elly Eagle).  The different names are examples of how names differ, such as pronunciations, gender associations, etc.  

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4) An interpersonal misunderstanding that is grounded in cultural differences, but can be applicable within a culture.  Each of these are designed such that 'ittle Bear interprets a behavior one way (generally in a negative sense, where it hurts her), but the intention is not negative.  While each misunderstanding has its roots in cultural difference, children of a single culture can relate to and understand 'ittle Bear's feelings and relate it to interactions within their own culture.  The table below shares what the difference is, so that you could select a specific book that might relate best to your child.  These examples help to discuss emotions and emotional regulation strategies.  For example, instead of being hurt or angry by someone, ask oneself "Might there be another interpretation?  What might they intend?"

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5) The Legends of... which contain interesting information about the country, and its culture, history, food, sport, arts and music, and other facts.  

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6) A bit of language from the country and culture with a simple pronunciation guide relevant for the book language.  Where the friend name differs substantially from phonetic spellings in the language (such as Siobhan), we also have the pronunciation guide for the name.  In this way, teachers, parents, and children can sound out the language.  More language resources are here.

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7) Facts and Figures about the country, such as the capital, flag, population, land area, and key economic areas.

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In addition, our USA editions (English and Spanish only, published through Nspir Learning LLC) have English and Metric conversions that can be an additional math activity.  EU editions (published through Nspir AB) contain only metric units.

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The table below outlines specific areas that could lead to further unit studies on relevant topics.