Is Mr Ed New Zealand’s longest-serving shared class toy?

In Mr Ed’s 15-plus years of service to Piha Community Preschool in Auckland, he has travelled to Florida and New York, including a photo op outside the firehouse made famous by the Ghostbusters movie. He has been to Australia twice. He has been to Rotorua, Taranaki and some of the most fun places in Auckland - the zoo, the aquarium, various museums and lots (LOTS) of children's birthday parties.

However, the only place a family officially lost him was at the local bowling club, bar, and restaurant. Mr Ed was recognised by a former student in the small beach community and returned safely.

“I just think the children have such an attachment to him that they actually do care for him,” says Sue Fraser, Piha Community Preschool’s head teacher of 23 years.

Many preschools embrace the shared class stuffed toy that gets billeted out to student families. They often document their time with the toy in drawings and photos, before returning the toy (hopefully) and the scrapbook for show and tell. Another student is picked for the honour, and the cycle starts again. It’s a moment met with elation for the chosen child and probably an eyeroll from the parent for the added admin.

In the chaos of little kids and busy families, Mr Ed’s long service is an achievement. Every time my son comes home with a toy from his year two class, it’s a different stuffed toy, the previous one lost to history, and at least one possibly stuffed in the back of our wardrobe.

Shared class toys are common in New Zealand’s early learning centres, according to Zhenlin Wang, an associate professor of early learning at Massey University.

“I really don't know how that started, but it is prevalent and having the same one for 15 years - that's remarkable,” she says, adding that her son’s preschool in Hong Kong also had one.

The idea of the class stuffed toy has been popularised in children’s literature by beloved New Zealand author Julia Donaldson in the Everywhere Bear, about a class toy that does get lost.

The toys can create a bridge between an early learning centre and homelife, bringing additional comfort for children when they struggle with separation anxiety from their parents, says Wang. The documentation aids in early literacy.

“We know play is really valuable during early childhood because play provides a safe environment for children to practice their social skills, their emotional regulation, language skills, cognitive skills, especially with stuffed animals...”

But Fraser said she wasn’t thinking of any of that when she bought Mr Ed, a tiger bear puppet thing, at an early learning conference in Australia. His name has nothing to do with a famous talking horse, of course, from the TV show Mister Ed. Fraser just felt like he looked like a Mr Ed and named him so.

Initially, he was a feature of mat time, whispering in Fraser's ear for her to share what he said with the class. The kids became so enthralled with him that they started taking him home. Then, kids started photographing their adventures and adding to a scrapbook to share with the class.

“It was just good for children's imagination,” she says.

On one of Mr Ed's first adventures with a family, his bottom was burned on a stove.

"And if you have a look, he has a repair on his bottom. The mum stitched him up and repaired him."

Some parents (myself included) feel pressure to make Mr Ed’s stay with their family an exciting one, but that isn’t the point, says Fraser.

“The book creates a relationship between parent and child,” she says.

During the day at the preschool, kids will often pore over the old scrapbooks of Mr Ed’s adventures, especially if their older siblings went to the school and are documented in the books. One student, who has three older siblings and a soft spot for Mr Ed, recently hatched an idea for a Mr Ed birthday with the help of teacher Kaye Annabell.

The children spent the week planning, writing invitations, making cards or gifts for Mr Ed, or picking flowers for him. He even received a few cards and gifts from former students.

“It was just the excitement of planning and revisiting all the books,” says Annabell.

At Mr Ed's 15th-ish birthday this month, he enjoyed a cake, a game of pass the parcel and a short walk to a picnic lunch.