Ferris Bueller In the House

We have a Ferris Bueller in our house and she is only 5 years old.

This has been confirmed today when I picked Abby from school early because she complained of a stomach ache. Her behavior the rest of the day has proved that she either did not have a stomach ache at all or her pain was moderate enough for her to have stayed in school. She has been trying to fake being ill in the morning for several months now and I think I know why. Her kindergarten class splits into reading groups in the afternoon. She has been assigned a teacher whom she is not very fond of. I met this teacher and can understand her disfavor towards him. He is very tall and thin and has a head shaped like Mr. Potatohead's body. He is bold and has gray spots all over his head. He has large eyes with black circles underneath. He talks fast in a monotonous tone. He has had Abby in his group for two months when he learned from me that she knows almost no English and that her first language is Russian. Personable and likable he is not, but she is stuck with him until the rest of the year as he is the only teacher that teaches advanced reading level.

Yesterday, when my son expressed his wish to start school, she said, "School is boring. If you know a lot, you will get to go to a reading group!" Quite a threat!

I am heartbroken that a daughter of a school nerd is faking to get out of school. This is a potential TAG kid (brag insert) we are talking about! So I told her a story about a boy who cried wolf. I do not know that she gets it yet and I don't know what I will do if I get a call like that again from school. Being a teacher, I should be able to smell a Bueller from a mile away, but I fell for it today because of my mommy bear instinct to come to the rescue.

I read somewhere that when a child first says his/her first conscious lie, parents should not be alarmed, but pleased that their child is developing normally. What about a child first conscious fake? Is faking an illness part of every kid's childhood? Tell me your kid does/did it too!