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You are here: Home / Homeschool / Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees

Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees

July 8, 2018 by Erin Vincent 22 Comments

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What does bringing home a Great Pyrenees have to do with homeschooling? Well, when you’re homeschooling and you decide to add a puppy to your family it’s bound to turn into a pet unit study. Because learning happens all the time.
Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees

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Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees

Our newest research project has actually been two years in the making. The children have wanted a puppy since we moved to the farm. We, however, needed to be in a bigger place to accommodate a large dog.

We moved to a larger home back in the fall and so we started seriously talking about a new addition to the family.

After much research, we decided to take a field trip to Hilltop Great Pyrenees where we got to know more about the breed…up close.

These dogs are magnificent, HUGE, and so gentle. They won over the entire family.

Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees

Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees

Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees

Meet Tanu Vanessa Graulus Belt Vincent. But we call him Tanu for short.

Can you guess who wanted the name, Vanessa? My daughter of course!

Heather at Hilltop Great Pyrenees was wonderful about sending us weekly updates on weight and lengths of each of the puppies. She also sent us pictures and videos as the puppies grew.

Also, I apologize in advance for the barrage of puppy photos you’re about to endure.

Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees
Newborn May 16th, 2018 Photo Credit: Hilltop Great Pyrenees
Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees
1-week old Photo Credit: Hilltop Great Pyrenees
Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees
2 weeks old Photo Credit: Hilltop Great Pyrenees
Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees
3 weeks old Photo Credit: Hilltop Great Pyrenees
Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees
4 weeks old Photo Credit: Hilltop Great Pyrenees
Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees
4 weeks old Photo Credit: Hilltop Great Pyrenees

Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees – A Pet Unit Study

Our weekly updates sparked my children’s desire and interest in the growth rates of the puppies as well as the history, geography, and temperament of this wonderful breed. It was sort of an impromptu pet unit study. This included…

  • math
  • language arts
  • geography
  • history
  • puppy training with consistency and all the patience that entails.

Did you know that Great Pyrenees can gain 10 pounds each month while actively growing?

Tanu is expected to reach 150 pounds when full grown…which will be in about 2 years.

Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees

Language Arts & Writing:

Every week the children wrote down some new fact they learned about the Great Pyrenees breed while also tracking Tanu’s length and weight. They did copy work from some of our Great Pyrenees books as well as dictation. In this way, they also learned new vocabulary and practiced their writing skills!

Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees
Measuring our puppy’s length.

Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees – Great Pyrenees Books


Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees
Measuring our puppy’s length.

Math:

The kiddos used a bag of rice to simulate Tanu’s weight each week. They weighed themselves first and then continually added rice to the bag until they suspected they had enough. Then they subtracted their weight from the total until they reached how much Tanu weighed.

From this, the children also learned how to create graphs!

Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees

The best way for us to homeschool is through hands-on life experiences.

Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees

Our First Meeting: Kids and Puppies

Love at first sight, folks!

We finally met Tanu face to face when he was 5 weeks old. He curled up in our laps and enjoyed the endless petting. He was just the most precious little “floofer” (is that even a word?) we had ever met!

Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees

Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees

You’d think that 3 1/2 hours of playing with puppies would be enough…but it wasn’t. It was, however, 3 1/2 hours of pure happiness!

Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees
5 weeks old and I foresee loads of mischief and adventures with these two!
Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees
5 weeks old
Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees
5 weeks old

He also enjoyed being held and serenaded by our daughter to the tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”

Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees
Singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star to her puppy.

Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees: Gotcha Day

Our official “Gotcha Day” for Tanu was July 7th! It felt like a whirlwind of adventure. He slept the entire 3 hours home. Then, he slept all night! I think I might have been spoiled with our first night together. But if that was the worst kind of night I can expect….I’ll take it!

Oh, and he has a strong distrust of the coffee maker and coffee making process. The only time he’s barked has been while I was making coffee….we’re working on it.

Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees

Welcome, Home Tanu!

We have officially entered into a new season of our homeschool.

Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees

Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees

Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees

In case you are thinking of adding a puppy to your home, here are some of our favorite resources for helping us prepare for puppy!

Puppy Picture Books



Puppy Training Books


Puppy Supplies


Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees

Want to see how Tanu is growing? Check out these photos of his awkward teenager stage! In these photos he is only a year old and around 100 pounds. He still has another year or more of growing to go. His guardian instincts are kicking in but he is still our “little” lap puppy. “If I fits, I sits.”

Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees

Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees

Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees

Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees

Homeschooling Kids and a Dog: Bringing Home a Great Pyrenees

If you love animals you may also enjoy…

  • Inspiring a Love of Reading with the Love of Animals

  • 4 Reasons We Got Goats

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About Erin Vincent

Erin is a writer, blogger, and homeschooler to two intense kids. She loves nature, farm life, good books, knitting, new pens, and hot coffee. Erin is a contributing writer for Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers. Her work has also been featured on Simple Homeschool and Book Shark.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Brittney Estep says

    April 18, 2020 at 1:05 pm

    Hello great post. We are a homeschool family and about to get a male Pyrenee we can not wait! What were your favorite read aloud books? Thank you so much. Did you get your boy neutered just curious?

    Reply
    • Erin Vincent says

      April 21, 2020 at 12:05 pm

      Hi and congrats on getting a little marshmallow fur ball! You are all in for a wonderful adventure! Our favorite read alouds about Great Pyrenees were definitely White Fur Flying by Patricia MacLachlan, Maxnificent! The Polka Dot Pyrenees by Dianne Burch, and Madeline Finn and the Library Dog by Lisa Papp. We did get our boy neutered at around 8 months old at he was starting to exhibit some behavior issues. But the neutering and consistent training nipped that in the bud. He is about to be 2 years old now and is just the best!

      Reply
  2. Douglas Roppe says

    December 27, 2019 at 11:06 pm

    I just saved a great Pyrenees, Shepard mix from the shelter she is a year and a half and weighs about 80 pounds,wish me luck she seems like a great dog but I think she’s had a tuff life.

    Reply
    • Erin Vincent says

      January 12, 2020 at 3:20 pm

      Awe, I wish you and your new 4-legged family member the best of luck!

      Reply
  3. Rich Fredericks says

    December 5, 2019 at 7:27 am

    I rescued a Great Pyrenese/ Golden mix who is more Pyr. than Golden. Wonderful., loving extremely smart dog and a wonderful protective watch dog. He is 5 and the love of our lives. Early socialization make a world of difference. Wonderful.article.
    Richie & Marybeth Fredericks

    Reply
    • Erin Vincent says

      December 5, 2019 at 4:52 pm

      Awe, thank you! I totally agree. Early socialization and continued socialization is crucial.

      Reply
  4. Julie says

    December 4, 2019 at 9:52 pm

    My great pyrenese, Ruby, is almost 8 years old. She is the love of my life! So gentle and loves cuddles. Her favorite spot is next to mom. Great breed and can’t imagine life without her.

    Reply
    • Erin Vincent says

      December 5, 2019 at 4:50 pm

      Tanu’s favorite spot is next to me too! He is definitely a mamas boy.

      Reply
  5. Lynne Watson says

    December 4, 2019 at 12:47 am

    Pyrs are the greatest! My husband and I did giant breed rescue for years and at one time had four Pyrs and a St. Bernard! Full house!
    Bill has since passed away, and I am so thankful for my beautiful 103# Tara! I’ll always have a Pyr!
    Have fun with your fur baby!

    Reply
    • Erin Vincent says

      December 5, 2019 at 4:49 pm

      Awe, thank you!

      Reply
  6. Sherry Secrist says

    September 30, 2019 at 10:49 am

    I absolutely love this breed but about 6 yrs ago I had a stroke & my husband denies me the pleasure of having a pryr because of there size. I conveyed the fact that they are extremely gentle. Oh well maybe some day.

    Reply
    • Erin Vincent says

      October 6, 2019 at 4:38 pm

      Awe, I’m so sorry about your loss and your health. Yes, they are just the best dogs. We can’t imagine life without our big goofy polar bear.

      Reply
  7. Bettie Carlson says

    May 13, 2019 at 3:51 am

    As a parent and educator I wish you continued success in educating your children….and much fun with your pyr. We have owned several of the breed. As I write now I am warming my toes in the fur of our male as he snores peacefully at my feet.

    Reply
    • Erin Vincent says

      May 13, 2019 at 8:48 am

      Awe, thank you! Our pyr is the best and I honestly can’t imagine having another breed of dog!

      Reply
  8. Renee says

    April 18, 2019 at 12:20 pm

    We have 2 Great Pyrenees,. Doolittle and Loretta, they’re 3, brother and sister. We’re empty-nesters and they bring us daily joy. We’ve had many large dogs over the years and these two are very best, always alert and good natured with grandbabies and guests. I can’t imagine our home without them

    Reply
    • Erin Vincent says

      April 22, 2019 at 1:53 pm

      Our “little fella” brings us daily joy as well. We can’t imagine life without his shenanigans and goofiness. I say “little fella” but he’s not so little anymore. He is now 11 months old and a whopping 90 pounds!

      Reply
  9. Lori Dawn Weaver says

    April 15, 2019 at 10:32 am

    We just brought our new puppy home-11weeks old now. We love him so much already! The Great Pyrenees are certainly special dogs
    I really enjoyed reading your blog, it was very heartwarming. ๐Ÿ™‚ Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
    • Erin Vincent says

      April 22, 2019 at 1:49 pm

      Congratulations on your new addition! Enjoy him while he is small and take loads of pictures. They grow up so fast. Ours is 11 months old now and 90 pounds. He is totally awesome, but I find myself looking back at the photos and wondering when he grew so big. ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  10. Heather says

    April 10, 2019 at 8:27 am

    We love our Great Pyrenees! She turned 2 in January and is such a wonderful part of our family ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Erin Vincent says

      April 10, 2019 at 1:19 pm

      Awe, love it! Our fella will be 1 in May! He has been such a blessing to our family.

      Reply
  11. Michelle Cannon says

    July 9, 2018 at 2:06 pm

    OMGOODNESS! What an ADORABLE dog! <3 Your kids look so happy!

    Reply
    • Erin Vincent says

      July 9, 2018 at 2:49 pm

      Thank you! The kids are over the moon with happiness!

      Reply

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Welcome! I'm Erin, a homeschooling mom to two very intense kids. Every day I try to find what works best for me and my family. My blog is filled with information to help you explore a child led education while making meaningful connections with your children. Discover favorite read alouds, seasonal books, games, art projects, hands-on activities, and learn to just breathe through the ups and downs of life. I hope these posts will encourage you on your homeschool adventure.

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