The kindergarten classes at Ft. Craig School in Maryville, TN have been collecting apples and acorns for the bear cubs at Appalachian Bear Rescue.  Education volunteers Anne Allison and Kathy Sherrard visited the school on September 12th and presented a program about ABR and black bears.  Anne and Kathy showed various bear items such as track casts, fur, a bear skull, a claw model, and samples of bear scat.  Children were asked if they would like to “adopt” one of the bear cubs, and they responded enthusiastically.

Materials were provided for each child to create a bank from a milk carton, in which s/he could collect coins to help feed the bears.  Children were encouraged to earn money by doing chores around the house.  Each class was given a photo of one of the cubs along with a certificate of adoption to display in their classroom.

The adoption project ended on October 15, and to thank the children for their participation we hosted a “Cub Cake” party for them.  Each child was given a cupcake to decorate with ears, eyes, and a nose, creating a bear face.  The pictures below show some of the children with their “Cub Cakes.”

Appalachian Bear Rescue would like to again thank the kindergarten teachers and students of Ft. Craig School  for their help in feeding the ABR cubs, both by the collection of apples and acorns and the generous donations collected from the banks.