Teddy Bear Picnic Day in San Francisco

Teddy Bear Picnic day at the preschool out on San Francisco's west side. The whole class lined up with their bears — and a Pikachu, and one blue race car that was definitely not a bear, and something that looked like a green alligator down in the front row. Nobody was checking credentials.

The school makes a real occasion of it; apparently the first one becomes the picnic every year gets measured against, and you could see why. A red checked blanket spread out on the classroom floor, twenty-some kids sitting cross-legged with stuffed animals in their laps, some clutching them tight and some already bored with holding still. One teacher kept things moving from the back near the kitchen counter.

The school has been around in some form since 1885, which is a strange thing to think about while a room full of four-year-olds negotiates whose bear sits where.

The baby came along too and mostly rode in arms outside afterward, more interested in grabbing at whatever was in reach than in any of the bears.