The new blanket
A couple Mondays ago, we forgot to send Josh in with his Thomas blanket for naptime. While Josh rarely takes naps, he still cuddles with his blanket for a while when the other kids in his class go down for their naps. While a forgotten blanket has caused meltdowns in the past, that was not the case this time.
"Daddy!" he exclaimed when I arrived to pick him up. "I didn't have my blanket for naptime, so I got a NEW blanket!"
There were no teachers around that could explain, so I asked Josh a series of questions. "A new blanket?" "Did your teachers give it to you?" "Do you like your new blanket?" All of the answers were in the affirmative and, once his answers were given, he had nothing else to say about it. I was confused, as our day care would not give him a blanket when they knew full well that he already had a blanket he loved, albeit forgotten at home for the day. Still, Josh insisted that he was given the blanket to keep, so I gave up until we got home.
At home, and with Jenn's help, we had more luck getting the story out of him.
"I didn't have my Thomas blanket, so I got a NEW blanket!" he declared to Jenn.
"You did? Was it from day care, or was it from someone else?" she asked.
Josh was confused for a moment but earnestly answered, "Someone else."
"Did one of the other kids give it to you?" she asked.
"No," he answered.
"Was it someone in your class?" she asked.
"I don't know," he admitted.
We knew day care would not let a stranger give him a new blanket, but we were still confused and a little concerned.
"Whose blanket was it?" I asked.
"I don't know," he muttered, dejected that we were not sharing the joy he had for his new blanket.
"What does the blanket look like?" Jenn tried.
"It's blue, and has BIG yellow letters on it!" Josh answered excitedly, happy to get back to telling us about the blanket.
"What letters are on it, buddy?" I asked. "What do they spell?"
"His name!" Josh answered with a smile, clearly thinking that I was silly for asking.
"Whose name?" Jenn asked.
"Bob's," he answered plainly.
Jenn and I gave each other puzzled looks as we tried to recall anyone in Josh's class--or the nearby classes--named Bob or Rob or Robert...
Seeing our confusion, Josh dead-panned his simple explanation: "He's a builder."
With the mystery of the blanket's owner resolved--and once we finished laughing--we explained that the Bob the Builder blanket was a loaner, as was confirmed by his teacher the next day. He was still excited about the new blanket, but Josh happily took his Thomas blanket back to day care the next day and has been using it ever since.
"Daddy!" he exclaimed when I arrived to pick him up. "I didn't have my blanket for naptime, so I got a NEW blanket!"
There were no teachers around that could explain, so I asked Josh a series of questions. "A new blanket?" "Did your teachers give it to you?" "Do you like your new blanket?" All of the answers were in the affirmative and, once his answers were given, he had nothing else to say about it. I was confused, as our day care would not give him a blanket when they knew full well that he already had a blanket he loved, albeit forgotten at home for the day. Still, Josh insisted that he was given the blanket to keep, so I gave up until we got home.
At home, and with Jenn's help, we had more luck getting the story out of him.
"I didn't have my Thomas blanket, so I got a NEW blanket!" he declared to Jenn.
"You did? Was it from day care, or was it from someone else?" she asked.
Josh was confused for a moment but earnestly answered, "Someone else."
"Did one of the other kids give it to you?" she asked.
"No," he answered.
"Was it someone in your class?" she asked.
"I don't know," he admitted.
We knew day care would not let a stranger give him a new blanket, but we were still confused and a little concerned.
"Whose blanket was it?" I asked.
"I don't know," he muttered, dejected that we were not sharing the joy he had for his new blanket.
"What does the blanket look like?" Jenn tried.
"It's blue, and has BIG yellow letters on it!" Josh answered excitedly, happy to get back to telling us about the blanket.
"What letters are on it, buddy?" I asked. "What do they spell?"
"His name!" Josh answered with a smile, clearly thinking that I was silly for asking.
"Whose name?" Jenn asked.
"Bob's," he answered plainly.
Jenn and I gave each other puzzled looks as we tried to recall anyone in Josh's class--or the nearby classes--named Bob or Rob or Robert...
Seeing our confusion, Josh dead-panned his simple explanation: "He's a builder."
With the mystery of the blanket's owner resolved--and once we finished laughing--we explained that the Bob the Builder blanket was a loaner, as was confirmed by his teacher the next day. He was still excited about the new blanket, but Josh happily took his Thomas blanket back to day care the next day and has been using it ever since.