In the fall, I highlighted “Weekends with Morrie” from our Kindergarten class. Today, I would like to share a special practice in the Preschool 4s class – similarly, with a stuffed animal.  Bobo takes turns going home with a preschooler, and is accompanied by a journal.   Nobody is quite sure of how the Bobo tradition began, but the teachers continue it because the children love spending a weekend with a stuffed friend!  The children eagerly await their turn (the hardest part of the tradition), and often ask if it is their turn.

As the children and parents enjoy their weekend with their visitor, parents write in the journal about the weekend adventures, often adding photographs of themselves, Bobo, friends, family and pets!  As you can imagine, this journal gets thicker and thicker each week.

When Bobo returns on Monday, the class gets to hear all about the adventures.  Everyone enjoys seeing the journal entries – there are always big smiles, both from the presenter and the rest of the class.   At Harbor, we start teaching leadership and breeding confidence at a very early age – and this opportunity is yet another way that young children can practice talking in front of a group.  There is a lot of learning that happens from this special experience, from language, pre-reading, sharing, communicating, and just plain old fun for a four-year old!