Hello, Everybody!

Greetings, West Virginians big and small! I'm Berkeley the Bear. I'm not just any little cub, though. I'm a little black bear, the state animal of West Virginia. It's not easy representing all of the critters in the Mountain State (that's West Virginia's nickname), but someone's got to do it - and I do it very well, if I must say so myself.

Meet Clay, Morgan, and Berkeley (that's me)

The rest of the Sugar Maple Friends (we named ourselves after our state's tree) have a great time representing all of the wild, wonderful things about West Virginia! There's Clay the Cardinal, Morgan the Monarch Butterfly, Harrison the Honeybee (we call  him Harry for short; he's been known to get out his stinger when you call him by his full name), and Brooke the Trout. We tried to get Harry and Brooke in the picture, too, but Harry kept buzzing around and Brooke gets scared when she's out of the water for too long. Together we work hard to make our state proud, but we still make time to smell the rhododendrons (a fancy name for Big Laurel, our state flower), and taste the Golden Delicious apples. 

Speaking of having an important job, I happen to be very good friends with a teacher who represents West Virginia this year - Mrs. Sponaugle! She teaches fifth grade at Tomahawk Intermediate in Hedgesville, West Virginia. In fact, I am named after the county she lives and teaches in (all of us Sugar Maple Friends are named after the counties of West Virginia). 

There's Mrs. Sponaugle in the black shirt, reading to Merlin the reading dog. He's not a state symbol, but I heard the fifth graders really liked him...and the book she was reading to them, Wonder.

Well, Mrs. Sponaugle has given the Sugar Maple friends a giant responsibility. She want us to help her teach the students in West Virginia this year all about our state! We were all so excited, because this is what we do best. I was just thinking about all of the special kids I will get to meet this year, when Mrs. Sponaugle (you say her name Spoh-NA-gul) said she has something very important to ask me. At first I was nervous, because I thought she was going to ask me what happened to all the honey in her pantry (I can get very carried away when it comes to my favorite snack). That wasn't what she needed to know, though.

She wants me to be her special travel buddy. You see, there will be many places this year that she will travel to around the state and country, and she wants to share that with all the students in our state, too! She wants the kids to get to see West Virginia and the U.S.A. through the eyes of a little black bear. 

At first I felt bad for the other Sugar Maple Friends, because this is an extra special perk. But they were happy for me and said I was the right state symbol for the job! You see, they all either swim or fly most of the day, so they aren't up for staying quietly packed in a suitcase for long car or plane rides. I guess I'm a very lucky little bear.

So off I go with Mrs. Sponaugle as she begins her travels as the 2014 West Virginia Teacher of the Year! You can check this special website to learn about where I go and what schools the Sugar Maple Friends visit this year. It's going to be so exciting - I can't wait!

I better run off and get some sleep while I can - bears should be hibernating this time of the year, you know.

Until next time...