Finding Winnie

Name: Finding Winnie
Author: Lindsay Mattick

A story that explores responsibility and opens a conversation with your child.

★★★★★ Loved by families

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♥ This book teaches: Responsibility. owning your choices and their consequences.

Before, During & After Reading

Guiding Questions for Parents.

Definition: doing what needs to be done with sincerity and without resistance or complaining. In short: Do what needs to be done. Summary: This is the true story about the world’s most famous fictional bear, Winnie the Pooh, who was the creation of author A.A. Milne. The facts? It all starts with a Canadian veterinarian soldier named Harry who adopts a homeless female bear cub. In Canada, Harry is assigned to a military post where he treats wounded horses. Harry arranges for Winnie the bear to become a mascot to the troops and when WWI breaks out in Europe, Winnie travels with Harry to a post in England. Eventually Winnie is gifted to the London zoo when Harry has to go to France. At the zoo, she gets special visits from a boy named Christopher Robin Milne whose father, inspired by the friendship between his son and the bear, writes the famous series about Winnie the Pooh. Because Harry took responsibility for a homeless cub, a boy found a friend in a bear, and an author created an award winning children’s book series! Lesson Objectives:

Students, inspired to see how responsible behavior can create many good outcomes, will demonstrate more awareness of how this works in their own lives.
Teachers can guide students to develop this awareness by asking them to respond to this prompt: When I took responsibility for ….. this happened….. (fill in the blanks). Students will have to do this frequently so it sinks in.

Guiding Questions:

How did Harry’s job as a veterinarian give him the confidence to take responsibility for a wild bear cub?
Find the countries of Canada and England on a map. Are they far away or close to where you live?
Have you ever read any books or seen any movies about Winnie the Pooh? If so, share what you remember about him and his friends.
Where did Winnie end up after spending time as a mascot in the Canadian army?
How did Harry’s willingness to take responsibility for a homeless cub positively impact the lives of others?
Have you ever been to a zoo? If so, share about what it was like for you, and what animals did you see?
If you saw an abandoned animal what would you do? Find out who to call in your community when an animal needs help.
Share about a time when you took responsibility to make something happen and how that had an impact on others. If you’ve never done this, make a plan and do it! If you need helpers, enlist their support, then make the magic happen!
Describe what happened after you did #9.
Do you have a favorite movie or book about an animal that was adopted and taken care of by an individual or family?

🌿 Virtue Connection: Responsibility means owning what is yours, including your choices.

About the Story.

This guide is part of the Values & Virtues library, a free collection of 400+ book guides and activities organized around 12 core virtues for children from pre-K to 6th grade. Each guide includes Guiding Questions designed to open a real conversation with your child in 10 minutes or less.

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Responsibility · Family Discussion Guide

Finding Winnie

by Lindsay Mattick

Guiding Questions

Students, inspired to see how responsible behavior can create many good outcomes, will demonstrate more awareness of how this works in their own lives.
Teachers can guide students to develop this awareness by asking them to respond to this prompt: When I took responsibility for ….. this happened….. (fill in the blanks). Students will have to do this frequently so it sinks in.

Guiding Questions:

How did Harry’s job as a veterinarian give him the confidence to take responsibility for a wild bear cub?
Find the countries of Canada and England on a map. Are they far away or close to where you live?
Have you ever read any books or seen any movies about Winnie the Pooh? If so, share what you remember about him and his friends.
Where did Winnie end up after spending time as a mascot in the Canadian army?
How did Harry’s willingness to take responsibility for a homeless cub positively impact the lives of others?
Have you ever been to a zoo? If so, share about what it was like for you, and what animals did you see?
If you saw an abandoned animal what would you do? Find out who to call in your community when an animal needs help.
Share about a time when you took responsibility to make something happen and how that had an impact on others. If you’ve never done this, make a plan and do it! If you need helpers, enlist their support, then make the magic happen!
Describe what happened after you did #9.
Do you have a favorite movie or book about an animal that was adopted and taken care of by an individual or family?

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Finding Winnie

Guiding Questions for Parents.

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Finding Winnie

Guiding Questions