We recently had “Photo Day” at my nursery school, and this reminded me of my all- time favorite preschool story. This happened many years ago during one of my first years teaching four year olds. It’s about a boy’s casual observations of his dad.
It was photo day at my school. The kids had arrived in their cutest splendor. Their clothes were pressed, their hair was gelled; in general, they looked quite spiffy.
As each child was next up to be photographed by Miss Maggie, I’d kneel on the floor running a comb through their hair fixing stray strands, adjusting collars, etc.
So here I was face to face with Mitchell.* As I combed his hair out of his eyes, Mitchell was chattering on and on as he often did.
At one point he said, “My Dad takes his hair off and goes over to Knuckleheads and gets his real hair cut. Then he comes home and puts his hair back on.”
I fell back laughing. Mitchell stared at me. I realized that with his stare, he was communicating to me “why are you laughing and exactly what was so funny about that?”
I pulled myself together. I was thinking that in Mitchell’s world, this behavior of his dad was completely normal. Surely everyone’s dad does this! He probably thinks that all dads take off their hair, go and get a haircut and come home to “put their hair back on.”
So, I composed myself and nonchalantly asked Mitchell, “Does it ever make you laugh when Daddy takes his hair off?”
Mitchell thought for a moment. “No,” he said. He paused; then he continued, “But you want to know what he does that makes me laugh?”
“What makes you laugh, MItchell?”
“When Daddy takes his teeth out.”
True story!
I never shared Mitchell’s remarks with his mom; she would have been mortified. Nor could I look his dad in the eye when he’d come to pick up his son. I just knew too much- thanks to Mitchell and his hilarious comments!
This true story is shared by Theresa Young, director of Lenape Kiddie Kollege in Medford, NJ. *Only the name of “Mitchell” has been changed to protect his (and his dad’s!) identity.