He's a found Piglet an I'm so happy to see you Piglet

Who knew this school thing was going to be so tough?



This is Abby's Piglet doll. He's nothing fancy, just a few scraps of fabric sewn together around a handful of plastic pellets. Abby has had Piglet her entire life and she loves him. So when she asked if she could take him to school with her Wednesday I had a hard time saying no. I tried, in vain, to convince her to leave Piglet with me, but she was having none of it. She was determined to take Piglet to school. Now I do realize that I am the Mother around here and I simply could have put my foot down and ended the discussion right then, but I understood why she wanted to take him with her. She wanted to take him to show her teacher and her friends. I know some of the other kids in her class do this as well. Sometimes it's just too hard to wait until it's your day for show and tell. At some point Wednesday evening I realized Piglet hadn't come home with her, but figured he was safe and sound in Abby's cubby at school. This morning I realized Piglet hadn't come home with her on Friday either.

Me: Abby, did you leave Piglet at school?
Abby: No they threw him.
Me: Who threw him?
Abby: The big boys. They threw him in the forest.

What the hell? So over the course of half an hour the story came out. I got Abby to tell me the story several times and each time the details were the same. Once Mike got home we even re-enacted it with me playing Abby, Abby playing her teacher and Mike playing the older boys. So I was quite confident the story was true. Piglet had been snatched from her hands on the playground by two older boys (who she named and one of which has gone to the sitter's with her for the past three years). The boys then threw him over the fence and into the wooded area behind the school. Abby, not surprisingly, began to cry which roused the attention of her teacher who asked her what was wrong. Abby told her what the older boys had done and they were sent off to the Principal's office.

Me: Did anyone get Piglet back for you?
Abby: No Mom. He's still in the forest and he's scared of the forest.

Now I was happy to hear that the teacher responded quickly and the boys were sent off to the Principal's office. It seems like it was handled correctly at the time. However I'm a little concerned that they didn't feel this warranted a phone call home. They were quick to call and tell us that Abby had been kissing a boy but not that she had been bullied at school. Now Mike brought up the point that she wasn't physically hurt and that's a true and valid point. However, we are discussing two 8 year old boys picking on a single four year old and a girl too no less. Which I can only guess was intimidating for her. What if that made her feel uncomfortable about going to school? How would I know that was the cause? We also have the issue of them taking her personal property which was not returned to her. If nothing else we should have been called and told about the loss of her Piglet. I am also so disappointed to learn one of the boys is was a friend of Abby's. Mike and I know the parents in passing, just saying hello as we picked up the kids at the sitters, but Abby and this boy have spent many an hour together and Abby loves his younger sister dearly.

Mike was at work this morning when Abby and I had this chat, but I filled him in briefly when he called to check in this afternoon. It was on my mind to have Mike take Abby over to the school and show him where Piglet was in the "forest", but Michael was two steps ahead of me. He left work, drove over to the school and found Piglet about 20 feet or so into the "forest", in the middle of a bramble patch (Abby did tell me Piglet was in some prickers) that Mike had to travel through a swampy area to get to. Which likely explains why somebody didn't go out to get him. Again, though, it would have been nice to know he was out there so we could organize our own rescue.



He was a little wet and a little muddy from 24 hours in the rain, but nothing a quick trip through the washing machine couldn't fix. Abby was ecstatic to see him. Mike got an "Oh thank you Daddy!" and a Dad of the Year caliber hug.

Mike and I spent a good chunk of time in conversation, the topic - What do we do now?

Our Options;

We do nothing. We realize it has been handled at the school level. Abby has her Piglet back. All is right in the world.

I write a note to the teacher asking what happened and requesting she call me at her earliest convience. The only version of the story I have is from a four year old. I'd like to hear it from an adult.

I call the school Monday morning and talk to the teacher or principal. I'd really rather talk to her teacher first. I do like her teacher and have only ever heard good things about her. I am hopeful this is a small oversight she was planning on correcting.

Mike and I go to the school on Monday and talk to the teacher in person. Mike's concerned about not making a mountain out of a mole hill. Which is not to make light of the situation in anyway. He just has a severe aversion to blowing even the slightest thing out proportion. We certainly don't want to be the type of parents that has the teacher rolling her eyes when she sees us coming. At the same time we also want and need to be strong advocates for our children.

I think the best thing for us and this situation is for me to write a note asking her teacher to call me when she has time to talk. I don't think we need to rush to the school with our guns blazing, but I think we do require a dialogue about what happened, what my expectations were and are in regards to situations like these and to make sure these kinds of oversights do not happen in the future.