This experience happened a few months ago but I realized the other day I had never blogged about it. And it's the kind of story that, although embarrassing, I want to record for posterity because it's amusing (in hindsight, of course).
T started a new preschool in the fall. Since we moved in August, he could no longer attend school with our beloved Miss Tammy. I just wasn't willing to drive 20 minutes both ways three times a week. His new teacher is nice and he enjoys the class, but I do miss seeing Miss Tammy, who was a family friend. I knew that she really cared about my kids, you know? A few months ago, I had just picked T up from preschool and he randomly announced to me, "I didn't take this car from my preschool." Umm, what?
I went down the hall to his cubby in the mudroom and found a matchbox car that I didn't recognize as being ours. When I asked him about it, he denied taking it from preschool. After H tried to get the truth out of him, T claimed that his preschool friend had given it to him. Whatever. The next preschool day, I had him take it back. (I planned to give it to the teacher myself but he said he would do it and say he was sorry.) When I picked him up, I asked his teacher if he had given her the car back. She didn't know what I was talking about. (He just put it back in the bin without mentioning anything to his teacher.)
I explained how he had accidentally taken it home, and she started to say that it wasn't a problem at all, and that kids put stuff in their pockets without even meaning to. As she said it, she happened to pat the side of his pocket and realized that they were full of small octagon-shaped discs (apparently, the kids pretend they're money). As she talked, she pulled out a disc. More and more. And more. There were lots of them.
*Sigh*
His teacher didn't act like it was a big deal, and it really wasn't. But because I don't know her that well, I was totally embarrassed by it at the time. If he had still been in Miss Tammy's class, I could have just laughed it off with her, no big deal. But I instantly wondered if the new teacher would think T was some sort of klepto. And T didn't appreciate me reminding him every single preschool day for two weeks afterward to not put anything in his pockets.
4 comments:
Both my kids went through the stealing phase in preschool, with K2 being much more cunning and calculating with it than K1. Thus with K1 it ended practically before it began, but with K2 we had to have a few go rounds and shaming sessions before we finally got her to quit :).
Most of my boys have done the same thing. I have thought of sewing the pockets shut but I really don't sew so that didn't go anywhere.
That's hilarious though that you were actually there to apologize about one klepto incident and he had his pockets full of new stuff stolen. Awesome!!
Oh and I love the picture of him. Did A take it? He looks more and more like H every day. I actually thought it was H because last time I saw T he was the cute little curly headed boy with his two fingers in his mouth claiming my basement stairs!
He looks so much like Adam to me! Although I can't remember Adam going through the Klepto stage. Maybe you should ask A about it?? I do remember A going through the"bury my Star Wars figures in the Thompson's sandbox stage". No wonder we don't have any more of his original Star Wars figures anymore.
I had to do that with C three times with different friends. Each time I made her go return the item and apologize. By the third time she figured it out and never took anything again.
Post a Comment