Cuddles the Bear

In Sam's kindergarten class each kid gets to be the "Special Bear" for one week.  Sam's in the midst of his week right now.  One of the many perks is having a parent come in and read your two favorite books to the class right from the teacher's wooden rocking chair.  Instead of two books, Sam picked his one very long book on the D-Day Landings.  Yes, D-Day as in that D-Day, the Allied invasion back on June 6, 1944.  And yes, this was for a kindergarten audience!  It was too funny to see how incredibly bored the kids were, yawning and falling asleep.  Every one in a while someone would perk up and ask, "Are the German the bad guys?"  And then someone else would comment, "We don't like bad guys."

Then it was time for the class to sing the Special Bear Song complete with cucarachas!  It was adorable!  And Sam got to pick out a second song, the Little Yellow Duck.  It is so sweet to see all the kids singing away, too young yet to worry about being cool.  Ah, the innocence of it all!

Perhaps the biggest perk of all has been getting to have Cuddles the Bear come home with us for a few days!  Mind you, Sam has never been into stuffed animals at all ever, but he sure is enthralled with Little Bear Cuddles.  He and Cuddles have already had many little adventures -- first Cuddles met Louise, the incredible sleeping kitty.  I think Cuddles caught her vibes because he immediately feel asleep on top of her pudgy body.  I bet she makes a nice comfy pillow!  Louise was none too happy with that and ambled off to find another prime sleeping location that was bear-free.  The merciful Cuddles let her escape.

Next Cuddles was introduced to the Lego box -- there is nothing like total immersion!  Yowza!  I bet it was bumpy!  Those little pieces hurt like nails when you step on them, so I can't imagine what it feels like to lie down on top of a whole tub of them.  And I sure don't want to find out either!

 

Next it was time to give Cuddles a piggy back ride.  Hold on, Cuddles!  As Sam's grandfather Pops would say, "We don't have time for a funeral!"  Plus I don't want to have to explain any injuries to Sam's teacher or, worse yet, the principal.  (I know the principal is supposed to be your "pal" because there is a "pal" at the end of the name, but there are limits, and explaining bear neglect is one of them.)

Then we buckled up.

And we were off to the library, also known as the "libe-beary."

And what kind of books did we get out?  Why, the Berenstain BEARS of course!  (Get it, bears? OK, I'll stop with the corny bear jokes -- for now.)  The library had a sweet memorial to Jan Berenstain who passed away a few days ago after writing over 100 wholesome stories for 50 years about Brother Bear, Sister Bear, Mama Bear, and Papa Bear.  What an amazing lady -- she was writing up to the day before she died.  Rest in peace, Mrs. Berenstain, knowing you have made the world a better place.

Then we headed to Sweet Frog where Sam got Cuddles his own straw-beary ice cream complete with gummy bears on it.  And then after finishing his own tower of ice cream, Sam thoughtfully "helped" Cuddles eat up his.

Hope you are enjoying your stay, Cuddles!  You sure have made the Special Bear Week extra special!  Next stop - the bus stop and possibly some bowling this afternoon!


LibbY