Create an activity that provides a bonding experience for members of a homeschool group. Children take turns bringing a stuffed animal mascot home for a week or so. In a journal that accompanies the animal, children can record the experiences that they and the animal have.
If the homeschool group has limited members, or if there is no formal group in the area, one family can start a mascot bag and pass it along to other families they meet during classes and outings for homeschoolers. A family can either encourage that others return the mascot to a particular home by a certain date, or allow the tote and stuffed animal to travel indefinitely.
Selecting a Homeschool Group Mascot
Unless there is an obvious choice (a fox for a group from the town of Foxborough), children can vote on a favorite animal. It is better to purchase a stuffed animal than to take a donation of an animal that belonged to one child, so there are no issues or arguments should the mascot face a mishap or accidental disappearance.
In the event of numerous choices, list all the animals on a white board or a piece of paper. Number the list. Ask the children to vote between animal number one and animal number two. Record the votes. Continue, comparing animal number one to number three, four, five, six, etc. Then compare potential mascot number two to number three four, five, etc. Continue until all animals have been put up for vote against other animals. The animal with the most votes becomes the mascot for the year. This will also work to come up with a name for the animal.
Of course, another option is for one family to set up a tote with a named mascot and present it to others. If a group is creating this, one family or committee could buy and name the animal, another family or group could decorate the tote bag, and a third unit could decorate the journal and create the journal.
Decorate a Canvas Tote
Decorate a traveling tote bag for the stuffed animal and its accompanying journal to voyage together. The bag provides an organized place for both objects whether they are being kept at someone’s home or while being handed to someone else. Add a fabric painting of the animal and include the animal’s name or the name of the homeschool group, and other appealing designs or decorations.
Decorate a Travel Journal
Use a composition notebook for the journal. With the pages stitched together, it is more difficult for pages to tear or fall out, as could happen with a spiral-bound notebook. Wrap the cover in construction paper and decorate with stickers, rubber stamps, drawings, etc. Cut up pieces of scrapbook paper or pictures from magazines to collage the cover.
On the inside cover, include a letter that explains that the recipient of the stuffed animal should record drawings, photographs, poems, or prose about the animal and its journey with a particular family. Also, explain that after recording at least one entry in the journal, that family should find another family and pass the animal along. Entries can include a description or picture about what the animal does while with a particular family.
A traveling stuffed animal can encourage children to write or draw about the creature’s exploits with different homeschool families over the course of a year. The group of children learns more about the lives of the other homeschoolers in their area.
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