We adore Corduroy! This Quest was inspired by the 1968 book Corduroy by Don Freeman, as well as the sequel book A Pocket for Corduroy (1978). 

I recommend you begin this Quest by reading the books aloud with your kids. If you don’t own a copy, you can find video readings of both books on YouTube or through your local library.

For this Quest you will need:

• All printable worksheets (see below)
• Pencils
• Plain paper
• Construction paper 
• Markers
• Scissors 
• Blindfold (optional)
• Things to make noise around the house (see below)
• Index cards (at least 10-20)
• Stuffed bear or other animal

Pre-Quest Prep:

The home-educator should read through the Quest in advance, to be sure he or she has everything necessary and to-hand. Print off all necessary worksheets, one per student, and prepare them as required. 

Place the activities around the room. Kids can complete the activities in any order. Each number and letter with corresponding activity is listed below. 

In this Quest, kids will learn: sound recognition, basic math, reading, sight words, map drawing and reading, writing, five senses, and art.

The Riddle

Corduroy’s girl left him a riddle to solve. Can you help him?

Why are teddy bears never hungry? They’re… 

1 (S)—Sound Recognition

What made that sound? Have the kids close their eyes or use a blindfold. Bang or move something. Have the kids guess what it was. Some ideas for sounds to make include: banging a pot or pan, opening or closing a drawer or door, pulling a chair out or pushing it in, turning a lamp on or off.

2 (T)—Button Math

Fill in the worksheet below. (Just save the image and print to use.) Each bear should have ten buttons. How many more does each bear need?

3 (U)—Furniture Word Hunt

Pull out at least 10-20 index cards. Pick a stuffed bear or other animal to play “Corduroy.” Have the kids help you by naming and spelling (and maybe writing if they do it so others can read the words) furniture and appliances around the house to write on the cards. Then have the kids cover their eyes. 

To set up a word scavenger hunt is really quite simple. Begin by placing “Corduroy” in a location named on a card. Then place the card naming the location where “Corduroy” is found in another place named on a card. 

For example: Say I hide Corduroy in the couch. I would then take the couch card and hide it in a bed. Then I’d take the bed card and hide it in a dresser. Then I’d take the dresser card and hide it on the table. And so on and so forth… 

Continue backward until you’re left with one card. Give this to the kids to begin the sight word scavenger hunt around the house! Such a fun way to practice reading!

4 (F)—Map Drawing

Have the kids draw a map of their own department store. We started with a compass and a box for the key (or legend). Then I had them fill in the key with symbols as they added them to their map. Be sure to mark where Corduroy is in your store! 

5 (E)—What’s in your pocket?

Fill in the writing prompt below. (Just save the image and print to use.) Corduroy really wanted a pocket. If you had a pocket, what would you put inside it? Try to describe using all five senses (if possible—sometimes taste is difficult!). 

6 (D)—Name Height

Have each child spell his or her name for you while you write it in large block letters on plain paper (or have them write it themselves as big as they can). Have the children cut around the shape of the letters in their name. Then have them turn the paper over so it’s just the shape of their name. What could they turn their name into? Encourage them to get creative!

Answer: STUFFED

We hope you had fun solving this riddle with Corduroy! Happy Questing!