Dear Preschool Teacher,
outh Media International, in cooperation with
American Greetings, is pleased to provide you with
this special kit featuring the Care Bears as ambassa-
dors for National Care Week, to be celebrated
November 9-15, 2003. This special week offers you, your
students and their parents a very special opportunity to
engage in caring, sharing and learning activities, as the
Care Bears teach kids that they’re never too young to care.
Teachers whose classes participate in collecting pennies
for a good cause (or “team up” in other caring ways) will
have a chance at national recognition by returning the
enclosed reply card by October 8, 2003, indicating the
activities in which your students will be taking part. The
first 100 respondents will receive $100 worth of Care
Bears educational supplies, including a ”Create Your Own
Storybook.” See www.Care-Bears.com for details.
You may remember the Care Bears from your own
childhood. They are truly special characters, each with its
own unique personality, that make it easy for children to
think about and understand their own emotions. Care
Bears can help you address students’ social and emo-
tional development and also enhance language skills
through the communication of feelings.
The activities in this kit are designed especially for
preschool children to give them a foundation for an atti-
tude of lifelong caring. The activities also foster learning
and developmental skills in recognizing letters, counting
and matching.
Activity 3 provides an opportunity for students to decide
together on a class caring activity. This activity is designed
to demonstrate how easily we can show we care, and
may qualify your class for special recognition. It will also
involve parents in an awareness of National Care Week,
and encourage children to find ways to show caring at
home. The poster is designed for monthly use to reinforce
the habit of caring. In order to return your reply card by
October 8, 2003, you may wish to plan for these activities
at least 10 days in advance of that deadline. Please use
this program with your students even if you choose not to
participate in the class recognition extension.
The material in this kit is copyrighted; however, you
may make as many copies as necessary to meet your
students’ needs. We also encourage you to share the
materials freely with other teachers in your preschool.
Sincerely,
Roberta Nusim, Publisher
Join the Care Bears Caring Team for National Care Week
© TCFC
Program Objectives
To build awareness of and partic-
ipation in National Care Week.
To provide this six-month pro-
gram as a means of building a life-
long habit of caring.
To engage children in expressing
their emotions as they identify with
various Care Bears personalities.
To r einforce counting, letter and
number recognition skills.
Target Audience
This kit is designed for preschool
students. Simplify the material as
you see fit for two-year-olds.
How To Use This Guide
Review the materials and schedule
the activities into your classroom les-
sons. Activity 1 will help children
identify ways they can demonstrate
friendship and caring behavior.
Activity 2 uses the Care Bear charac-
ters to engage children in letter and
number recognition and in counting.
In Activity 3, children match a word
to the image it represents, and then
think about how they can show car-
ing for animals, people, or nature.
From this activity, the class should
decide what they will do as a group
to collect pennies for a good cause
or otherwise participate in National
Care Week. Copy both sides of the
take-home information sheet, write
the activity idea on the back, and
give the sheet to your students to
take home. Then submit your plans
on the enclosed reply card by
October 8, 2003, in order to make
your class eligible for special recog-
nition. Use the Resources List to find
ideas for student sharing and caring
opportunities throughout the year.
How To Use the Poster
Place the poster in a prominent
location in your classroom to help
build interest in National Care
Week. The poster contains simple
ideas for each day of National Care
Week this year, as well as sugges-
tions for activities you can do as a
class in each succeeding month to
keep the focus on caring. Fill in any
activities the class has done each
month in the space provided.
Cheer Bear. Cheer Bear is an opti-
mist who gives encouragement to
those who don’t feel well. Cheer
Bear is pink, and she has a rainbow
on her tummy.
Wish Bear. Wish Bear is creative and
intuitive and encourages others to
work to make their dreams come
true. Wish Bear is aqua, and she
has a shooting star on her tummy.
Share Bear. Share Bear is the most
unselfish and giving of all the Care
Bears. Share Bear is lavender, and
she has twin lollipops on her tummy.
Funshine Bear. Funshine Bear, the
“class clown” of the Care Bears,
loves to help others laugh and have
fun. Funshine Bear is yellow, and he
has a smiling sun on his tummy.
Tenderheart Bear. Tenderheart Bear
is sensitive and shows people how to
share their good feelings with oth-
ers. Tenderheart Bear is brown, and
he has a heart on his tummy.
Bedtime Bear. Bedtime Bear likes to
help others—especially kids—get a
good night’s sleep and plenty of
rest. Bedtime Bear is blue, and he
has a moon on his tummy.
Grumpy Bear. Grumpy Bear shows
us that being in a bad mood is okay
sometimes, but that it’s silly to let
our grumpiness go too far. Grumpy
Bear is blue, and he has a rain
cloud on his tummy.
Friend Bear. Friend Bear is outgoing
and likes to show others how to be a
good friend. Friend Bear is peach,
with two flowers on her tummy.
Love-a-lot Bear. Love-a-lot Bear is
spunky, emotional, and has lots of
love to share. Love-a-lot Bear is
pink, with two hearts on her tummy.
Good Luck Bear. Good Luck Bear is
self-confident and likes to share his
good luck with others. Good Luck
Bear is green, and he has a four-
leafed clover on his tummy.
Activity 1.
If I Were a Care Bear
his activity is designed to help your students begin thinking about what it
means to be a caring person. After distributing a copy of the activity
master to each of your students, lead a discussion about the things each
Care Bear might do to show he or she cares, and what each child might do
if he or she were that Care Bear. Following is a little background about the
Care Bears to help you get started.
The Care Bears
The Care Bears live in a star-speckled, rainbow-trimmed, cotton candy
world called Care-a-lot. In everything they do, they teach the importance of
caring for others and sharing their special feelings. Each Care Bear repre-
sents a feelings- or caring-based relationship that is illustrated by a bright-
colored symbol on its tummy. The Care Bears are:
alk with your students about the tummy graphic for each bear and how
it helps us understand what that bear represents. To reinforce their
meaning, play a matching game with your students. Help them name
emotions that go with each graphic. Then, during small-group time, help
your students decide what kind of Care Bear they would be. What name
would they pick for their Care Bear? What traits would they like to have?
What color would they be? What special picture would they have on their
tummy? Allow time for each student to tell about his or her Care Bear and
to personalize the picture on the activity master. Then, help each child write
the name of their Care Bear under the picture.
Yo u also can use this activity to reinforce your students’ knowledge of col-
ors. As you talk about each Care Bear, help your students find its picture on
the activity master. Then, ask them to select the right color crayon for that
Care Bear. For example, “What color is Funshine Bear? Funshine Bear is
yellow. Let’s color Funshine Bear yellow.”
T
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© TCFC
fter you distribute one activity master to
each student, read the title and the poem
aloud, then review with your class the differ-
ent caring traits that the Care Bears can help
them learn. Then, tell the students that, in this
activity, the Care Bears will help them learn their
letters and numbers. First, help students say the
first letter of their own name. Then, as you go
through the Care Bears’ names, help students
say the letter each name starts with. When you
have named all the Care Bears, help students
tell you which ones have the same beginning
letter in their names. Have the children stand in
groups with the other students who have the
same first letter in their names. Give each group
a blank piece of paper and help the group
members print their names on it.
To begin the second part of the activity, help
each group count the names on their paper,
then write that number on their paper. After
each group has a chance to tell their class-
mates how big their group is, write the names
of the Care Bears on a sheet of paper and
help students count them. (Students will discov-
er that there are 10 Care Bears.) Next, help your
students find the group on their activity master
that contains 4 Care Bears. Write the number 4
on the board and have each child write a “4” on
his or her paper. Repeat the appropriate number
for each group of Care Bears. Your students
can then color the Care Bears, letters and
numbers. If your students are collecting pen-
nies, you can have them count and then stack
them in groups 10 high.
You also can use this activity to focus on
letter sounds by helping students name other
classroom objects that begin with the “b”
sound in bear. You might repeat this for each
Care Bear’s name, reminding students about
each one’s caring traits.
Activity 2.
C is for Caring
...
and Counting, Too!
o begin this activity, talk with your
students about the importance of
caring. Remind them that, even though
they will be celebrating a special National
Care Week, caring is important all year
long. Read the three words on the
activity master to your students, then
have them draw a line from each
word to the image it represents. Now
have students brainstorm all the differ-
ent ways they could show caring for
animals, people or nature both in the
classroom and at home by collecting pen-
nies for their chosen cause or by other
things they can do. Write down their ideas
as the students name them and post the
list in the classroom. Lead a class discus-
sion to decide which of the ideas they
want to adopt for National Care Week. On
the back of the “Dear Parent” information
sheet, record the class choice of activity
and give each of your students a copy
to take home to invite parent involve-
ment. Then have the class color in the
three images.
Activity 3.
I’m On the Care Bears
Caring Team!
Resource List: Web Sites
Official Web Site of the Care Bears: www.Care-Bears.com
The following sites are good sources of ideas for service
projects kids can do:
Kids Care Clubs (Points of Light Foundation):
http://www.kidscare.org
Humane Society of the United States: http://www.hsus.org
Youth Service America: http://www.ysa.org
Stories About Helping
The Can-Do Thanksgiving, by Marion Hess Pomeranc. Morton
Grove, IL: Albert Whitman, 1998. (Helping the hungry)
Ducks Disappearing, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997. (Helping animals)
Fernando’s Gift, by Douglas Keister. San Francisco: Sierra
Club Books for Children, 1995. (Helping the environment)
Care Bears, Cheer Bear, Wish Bear, Share Bear, Funshine Bear, Tenderheart Bear,
Bedtime Bear, Grumpy Bear, Friend Bear, Love-a-lot Bear, Good Luck Bear, Care-a-lot
are trademarks of ©2003 Those Characters From Cleveland, Inc. Used under license
by Youth Media International, Ltd.
Youth Media
International Ltd.
P. O. Box 1129, New York, NY 10163
(212) 286-1000
www.youthmedia.com
A
T
© TCFC
Did You Know… When the Statue of Liberty was
being built by France, America’s contribution—the pedestal—
was stalled due to lack of funding. American school children
raised approximately $10,000 of the $100,000 needed to
complete it. Recently, a Kids Care Club in a German elemen-
tary school started a Read for Refugee Children project to buy
blankets for people in Afghanistan in their belief that you
should “treat everyone the way you want to be treated.”
You’re never too young to care!
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© TCFC
.Tenderheart Bear .Bedtime Bear .Funshine Bear .Love-a-lot Bear .Share Bear
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© TCFC
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Dear Parent,
s the parent of a preschooler, you may remember the Care Bears from your own
childhood. They are truly special characters, each with his or her very own personality.
The 10 Care Bears, which include characters such as Tenderheart Bear, Cheer Bear, Friend
Bear—and even Grumpy Bear—make it easy for children to think about and understand
their own emotions. And, their message about caring and sharing may be even more
relevant in today’s complex world than it was 20 years ago, when the Care Bears were
introduced.
November 9-15, 2003, has been designated as National Care Week—a time to celebrate
the importance of caring and sharing. As part of our celebration at school to kick off
National Care Week, we are introducing several learning activities that involve the Care
Bears. We are talking about the ways we can show others that we care—sharing, being a
good friend, and being kind, sensitive and supportive of others.
To make National Care Week an even more meaningful learning experience,
your child’s class has chosen an activity that they would like to do together,
with your help, so that they can begin to develop a lifelong habit of
caring. The activity is listed on the Committed to Caring Certificate
on the other side of this sheet. You can make it “official” by helping
your child decorate the certificate. Then, have fun with your child
doing this activity!
When you have completed the activity, give yourselves a pat on the
back—color in the gold star in the bottom corner of the certificate!
Then, encourage your child to continue caring and sharing. Find a
volunteer activity that you can get involved in together and do
something to show that your family cares! Local churches and service
organizations, for example, may have projects you can do. Each time
your child does an “act of caring,” list it in the space at the side of the
certificate and color in another star. Here are some ideas:
Have your child make get-well cards for sick children in the hospital.
Donate toys your child has outgrown to children who don’t have any to
play with.
Recycle soda cans from home or school, and donate the money to a good
cause.
Get pledges for a trike-a-thon and see how many laps of the playground
your child can ride—then donate the pledge money to a favorite charity.
We’ve also listed a few Web sites below that contain helpful hints and project ideas.
We hope you will take advantage of this National Care Week celebration to participate
as a family in year-round caring and sharing activities.
Resource List
Official Web Site of the Care Bears: www.Care-Bears.com
ZOOM Into Action Family Guide to Volunteering
http://pbskids.org/zoom/too/action
Family Cares: http://www.familycares.org
Volunteer Center National Network
http://www.volunteerconnections.org/VCP_volunteercentermap.cfm
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Tuesday
Cheer up a friend
who is sad.
Wednesday
Give your pet a
special treat.
Thursday
Give someone
a hug.
Friday
You did a great job
caring!
Sunday
National Care Week kicks
off: Do something nice for
your mom.
Monday
Make a new
friend in class.
Tuesday
Cheer up a friend
who is sad.
Wednesday
Give your pet a
special treat.
Thursday
Give someone
a hug.
Friday
You did a great job
caring!
Saturday
Share your good
deeds with your
family.
Saturday
Share your good
deeds with your
family.
Sunday
National Care Week kicks
off: Do something nice for
your mom.
Plan National
Care Week
activities.
Plan National
Care Week
activities.
Monday
Make a new
fr iend in class.
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You’re Never
Too Young
To Care!
You’re Never
Too Young
To Care!
National Child Safety Week
Take cookies to the fire station.
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Valentine’s Day
Make cards for your classmates.
________________________________
____________________________
__________________________
________________________
National Clock Month
It's time to turn the
clocks back—but plan
ahead for National Care Week!
Our class will:
________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
St. Patrick’s Day
Take cans of green veggies to the
person in your town who is in
charge of helping to feed
the homeless.
____________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
National Library Week
Donate books to the
local library.
________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
Be Kind to Animals Week
Hold a Pennies for Pets drive to buy
pet food or animal toys for the local shelter.
____________________________________
__________________________________
____________________________
First Day of Winter
Make a feeder for the
birds outside your
classroom window.
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
National Eye Care Month
Collect used eyeglasses
for the Lions Club.
______________________________
________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Any Time During the Year
Make get-well cards for sick children in the hospital.
Donate toys you have outgrown to children who don’t have any to play with.
Recycle soda cans from home or school, and donate the money to a good cause.
Get pledges for a trike-a-thon and see how many laps of the playground
you can make—then donate the pledge money to a favorite charity.
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