Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that having the bloody class bear to visit should be banned?

164 replies

poshme · 09/03/2011 20:01

I know its stupid but i'm sitting here in tears beacuse i do not have a colour printer to print the pictures for the diary entry i am supposed to write for the bear. i cannot even cut out the crappy black and white ones cos this evening my 6 week old dd sreams if i stay still or put her down.
the sodding bear arrived on monday and has to be returned tomorrow with 2 sides of writing and pics saying what he has done for the last few days...while ds was at school and after school. And I know it is not a competition, but it gets read out and shown to all the class, and then our entry goes in the folder for all the next parents who get the bear to read.
my son is just 5. he can write a few words. he cannot layuot pics on a computer. why why why do they give us this stupid task??? i was a teacher so i really want to support the school but this is making me feel like a shit mum cos ours will look crapper than everone else's..

OP posts:
Catnao · 09/03/2011 23:45

I had a stupid class bear once, as he was a hangover from the previous teacher of that year group and was like a much loved national treasure or something among the kids (and probably, reading this thread, the parents who went to do the House of Lords type stuff, I guess!). I hated the damned thing. I hated the fact that his name was Jasper, quite apart from anything else. He got nicked was never returned after one visit he went on. Never mind then. Wink

MadamDeathstare · 09/03/2011 23:46

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Catnao · 09/03/2011 23:46

PS Congrats on new baby, OP! Grin

cheekeymonkey · 09/03/2011 23:56

Excellent idea Mary, especially the 'wash bear' bit, was are they always filthy and your child wants it to sleep in their bed?

colditz · 09/03/2011 23:56

You need some Duct tape and a nurofen syringe.

Fashion a belt out of duct tape and strap it tight around Teddy's arm.

Poke syringe deep into fur.

Take photo

Place bear in shoe box and take to nearest Greggs doorway. Place bear in doorway. Take photo.

Bribe old-man-in-mac to proffer a fiver to bear while you take photo.

Obtain small red circular stickers and place all over Teddy's groin. Take photo.

Take bear to GUM clinic, hold next to sign. Take photo.

Title the project "Drugs - Just Say No."

fifi25 · 10/03/2011 00:02

or take it to the nearest Jobcentre plus and say heres bear helping daddy find a job

to the nearest weatherspoons and say this is bear keeping me warm outside whilst waiting for mammy and daddy

to the police station and say heres bear helping my mammy signing on for bail, she done a very naughty thing you know

lovenamechange100 · 10/03/2011 00:04

Oh dear just make it up.

What is the benefit of these things, what is the rationale beind them? We dont have one BTW. Wink

Heroine · 10/03/2011 00:18

it is tempting to do a gothic montage about how he met his miserable, bloody but glamerous death at a jealousy party hosted by your DD existing toys and send in a set of dramatic stark images of a teddy being tortured then being laid out glamerously dead in a new suit. coffin and make up - you might have to endure some ed psych, but man would it be a good payoff! :) :)

lovenamechange100 · 10/03/2011 00:35

Take his stuffing out, iron him (or her) and stick him in the picture bit and write about how he got runover/trampled on when he went to london to see the queen or some other snoobby important OTT event o

Heroine · 10/03/2011 00:37

PMSL!!

Original poster
poshme · 10/03/2011 02:25

Sorry I can't remember who said it but yes- I am very much enjoying reading these! Oh to have the confidence to write them in the bears diary!
I am feeling rather better (despite it being 220 am!). Luckily so, otherwise bobyan's post might have got to me...
Am so tempted by the roadkill ... Perhaps next time we have a bear!

OP posts:
MmeLindt · 10/03/2011 07:36

Oh, ignore Bobyan. Silly bugger.

Love these suggestions.

Thank goodness we don't have this at our school, it sounds like an utter nightmare.

UndiscoveredApprentice · 10/03/2011 07:49

I'd let my son draw the pictures, and detail the fun of being a bear in a house with a new baby sister - he will be the only one in class with a bear who helped change nappies etc :)

slightlymad72 · 10/03/2011 08:27

Teddy, after suffering months of being passed from foster family to foster family could no longer cope with the psychological effects of his unstable life, decided he could take no more. He left in the early hours of Saturday morning, after nicking the family silver and my Great Grandmothers wedding ring, leaving a note suggesting he was making his way to the West End, in order to follow his dream.
Hopefully teddy can be found as I would dearly love to see him again, so I can have the chance to wring his scrawny little neck.

amidaiwish · 10/03/2011 12:36

from what i understand the "point" of the class bear is as a reward to the child.
they are all desperate to bring the bear home. the teacher then picks someone who has been especially good and tells them why they are getting the bear.

When they come back to school after the weekend the teacher reads out the book, with the child standing at the front of the class joining in, telling everyone what they did. so, it is about building confidence in speaking in front of everyone etc...

it doesn't actually matter WHAT you do.

lovenamechange100 · 10/03/2011 12:41

Oh thanks amid I did wonder - yes that seems ok, but oall the same pleased we dont have the bear thing here, I just thought they took turns to bring them home.

Geocentric · 10/03/2011 12:43

I have a worse nightmare on my hands. I made this year's "class bear" (except its a seahorse) - teacher couldn't find a stuffed one so I thought it would be nice to offer to make a felt one... Hmm Now I'm going to spend the entire school year (from now to December!) in agony that it'll inevitably fall apart because of my crap sewing and the kids will have to hold a seahorse buriel. Very traumatic!!!! And then I'll be hated by all the other parents forever.........

You can guess what I'll be doing when it finally comes home for a weekend, right? Repairs! ("Class mascot went for a lovely spa and tummy tuck this weekend")

fifi25 · 10/03/2011 12:49

I dont think anyones dissing the bear. I think people are more concerned about what to do with the bear when they see all the stuff other parents have done with it. I know my eldest looked through the book and was all excited about where we were taking the bear. Nowhere as i was skint and had 2 younger kids to look after. Yes the bear should be used as a rewards but some of the parents are fucking unbelievable. As the books go on the outings get more and more sensational. So what if poor Johnnys been naugty all year and gets it at the end, sees all the stuff its done but mam cant afford to do it. It would serve the school right if Johnny killed the bear TBH

ringoffire · 10/03/2011 12:49

Seem to have missed the point here, the class bear is their mascot, for our children at least, getting the chance to look after the bear and take it home was something they really looked forward to.

Although we did take a picture of the kids with the bear, the rest of the report was a description of what they had done, and things like a flower taped into the book that bear had found in the park.

The exercise (at least with our school) was about teaching the child to take responsibility.

WRT homework, my 5 yr old gets math, reading and writing as homework.

Missymorrison87 · 10/03/2011 12:50

To be honest... this all sounds more like homework for the parents - with all the "what did the bear do during the day when the child was at school" BS...

Plus the fact that you have to take photos and type it all up... hmm. Do the kids themselves actually do anything except bring it home and hand it over to Mum??

BeerTricksPotter · 10/03/2011 12:52

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BibiThree · 10/03/2011 12:58

Poshme, I'm sorry you're feeling so down about this silly task, I hope some of the replies you've got have raised a smile, some have had me howling with laughter. I am now very prepared for when "Bronwen" comes to our house.

Thank you all Grin

TheOohAahBird · 10/03/2011 13:01

YADNBU. We managed to lose the class bear on a trip out.

The whole weekend was a blur of frantic phonecalls and tears trying to relocate it to no avail.

We then had to go in and confess our crime to a reception class of 30 trembling lower lips and brimming eyes on the Monday morning. Dd even donated one of her own bears to replace it Hmm

And then there was the Disney trip we'd skrimped and saved for - accompanied by an enormous blinkin stuffed BEAVER (the pack mascot from Beavers who was also partial to muscling in on family outings)Hmm

And guess who had to carry it round for the day terrified of a re-run of the lost bear saga Hmm

lovenamechange100 · 10/03/2011 13:03

geo interesting - well least the seahorse cant undergo gender reassignment! LOL

Interesting choice a seahorse.

lovenamechange100 · 10/03/2011 13:07

Beer yes Ive heard this before but I dont see how it does foster home school relationship because the bear I assum doesnt talk - you just get to nose at what may be exagerations of other peoples households and lifestyles IMO Grin

Gosh amd very pleased I dont have to do this. Mind you I am on tenderhooks about what we gonna have to pull out of bag for comic relief I hope its somthing to do wiht a clothing theme as lovename [smug] has just bought fabric paints - on impulse obviously

Oh thats an idea the bear could be dotted with big red boils