This year’s Bear Parade kicked off this year’s kindergarten geography study. During the parade, Lower School and even Middle School students cheered on the little ones as they made their way through the main campus.

It’s a year-long project that began with the students bringing small stuffed bears from home, and then gave them names and personalities.

The youngsters then are to take the bears with them whenever they travel, or sent off with a friend or family member. Then whoever has the bear takes a picture of the stuffed animal in a specific location and sends it back to Keystone. Each postcard inspires research on the locations.

Over the course of the school year, the Kinder Cottage fills with pictures of the bears from all over the country and sometimes even international locations.

Then the bears come back to school in May.