What a Four Year Old Hears

[profsaffel]

Recently, my wife and I got in the habit of doing a little ten minute lesson with our four year old son most evenings, usually after bath time. Sometimes, my wife teaches him how to write his name or I work with him on dinosaurs or outline Texas or repeat the pledge of allegiance or some other typical stuff.

Last night, I pulled out a place-mat with pictures and names of the US Presidents. The lesson was going as well as could be expected. He could tell me the name of the first president and the current president and we counted all 44 of them. Then, I asked him if there was any president he wanted me to tell him about. His mom suggested Abraham Lincoln and I was pulling for Ronald Reagan. No. Not my son. The fun began when he pointed to …Richard Milhous Nixon.

So, I attempted to explain how Mr. Nixon ended Vietnam and got in trouble for Watergate and resigned and then Gerald Ford became President. I knew the intricacies of the scandal and such was too ridiculously complicated to explain to most adults, let alone a Thomas the Tank Engine obsessed preschooler, so I left it at that.

He didn’t.

Before bed, he was pushing around a toy motorcycle, shouting from the rooftops how “Richard Mix’n” was riding his motorcycle and crashed into the water gate and water spilled everywhere and God told him to “Be careful” and he rode over to see Barack Obama.

Have a nice day,
Doug

 

[82R100]

That's cute, and not surprising at all. Our younger child is 26 now, so it's been a little while...

I'm curious: What does it mean to "outline Texas"?

-Chris

 

[Robxcarlson]

I'm curious: What does it mean to "outline Texas"?

-Chris

People not from Texas rarely understand the devotion we feel for our own state.

 

[profsaffel]

That's cute, and not surprising at all. Our younger child is 26 now, so it's been a little while...

I'm curious: What does it mean to "outline Texas"?

-Chris

Oh, well, we have a US map on a place-mat and an expo marker so he could trace the outline of the states and erase it and do it again. Or circle the capitols, or whatever.

 

[tpoof]

Recently, my wife and I got in the habit of doing a little ten minute lesson with our four year old son most evenings, usually after bath time. Sometimes, my wife teaches him how to write his name or I work with him on dinosaurs or outline Texas or repeat the pledge of allegiance or some other typical stuff.

Last night, I pulled out a place-mat with pictures and names of the US Presidents. The lesson was going as well as could be expected. He could tell me the name of the first president and the current president and we counted all 44 of them. Then, I asked him if there was any president he wanted me to tell him about. His mom suggested Abraham Lincoln and I was pulling for Ronald Reagan. No. Not my son. The fun began when he pointed to …Richard Milhous Nixon.

So, I attempted to explain how Mr. Nixon ended Vietnam and got in trouble for Watergate and resigned and then Gerald Ford became President. I knew the intricacies of the scandal and such was too ridiculously complicated to explain to most adults, let alone a Thomas the Tank Engine obsessed preschooler, so I left it at that.

He didn’t.

Before bed, he was pushing around a toy motorcycle, shouting from the rooftops how “Richard Mix’n” was riding his motorcycle and crashed into the water gate and water spilled everywhere and God told him to “Be careful” and he rode over to see Barack Obama.

Have a nice day,
Doug

at least God is still there.. doing God stuff.

 

[82R100]

Oh, well, we have a US map on a place-mat and an expo marker so he could trace the outline of the states and erase it and do it again. Or circle the capitols, or whatever.

OK, that makes sense.

We used to live in Maryland. You'd need to get him a Sharpie for that.

- Chris

 

[82R100]

People not from Texas rarely understand the devotion we feel for our own state.

You know, I've noticed that.

Believe it or not, I was born in El Paso.

My dad was stationed at Fort Bliss.

- Chris

 

[profsaffel]

at least God is still there.. doing God stuff.

Yes, my son has a tendency to mix several stories, lectures, tv shows, and sermons together at random times. There is no telling who God originally told to be careful in his mind, but now, it's Richard Nixon.

 

[SRock]

Kids are awesome! Thanks for sharing this story.

 

[airplanedoc]

My mom tells that she was amazed when I came upstairs and was complaining that my cartoons were "preempted" because someone shot at Ronald Reagan. She had not had the television on and dosen't know whether she was more taken back because the president was shot, or I knew what preempted meant.

 

[Ru4scuba?]

Kids are awesome! Thanks for sharing this story.

+1...I got a real kick out of reading this...thanks!

 

[Cutter]

What a Four Year Old Hears… I can relate to that. Every evening, my wife and I would try to teach our son a little math. One plus one, the sum of which is two... Two plus two, the sum of which is four... etc. The other day his teacher asked the class if anyone could tell her what was two plus two. My son blurted out "The sumb*tch is four!"

 

[WittyAg]

What a Four Year Old Hears… I can relate to that. Every evening, my wife and I would try to teach our son a little math. One plus one, the sum of which is two... Two plus two, the sum of which is four... etc. The other day his teacher asked the class if anyone could tell her what was two plus two. My son blurted out "The sumb*tch is four!"

 

[SRock]

I got this one in the email from a friend:

A Sunday school teacher asked her class, "What was Jesus' mother's name?" They all knew. "Mary," they answered in unison. The teacher then asked, "Does anyone know what Jesus' father's name was?" A little kid shot up his hand and said, "Verge." The teacher asked, "Where did you get that?" The little kid said, "You know, Verge n' Mary.

This is not an endorsement of any particular religion merely pointing out the cute things kids say. Please if you are of this religion or not do not focus on that.

 

[rickboone1]

What a Four Year Old Hears… I can relate to that. Every evening, my wife and I would try to teach our son a little math. One plus one, the sum of which is two... Two plus two, the sum of which is four... etc. The other day his teacher asked the class if anyone could tell her what was two plus two. My son blurted out "The sumb*tch is four!"

This is hilarious.

 

[DSB]

Very cute.

 

[profsaffel]

I got this one in the email from a friend:



This is not an endorsement of any particular religion merely pointing out the cute things kids say. Please if you are of this religion or not do not focus on that.

I know, I know, sometimes it feels like every other statement around here needs a disclaimer at the bottom. I suppose at the end of my story I should have wrote, "The author is in no way implying the guilt or innocence of Nixon, the driving of motorcycles is or is not a menace to society, nor was Barack Obama ever in cahoots with Nixon or the Watergate scandal."

 

[SRock]

I know, I know, sometimes it feels like every other statement around here needs a disclaimer at the bottom. I suppose at the end of my story I should have wrote, "The author is in no way implying the guilt or innocence of Nixon, the driving of motorcycles is or is not a menace to society, nor was Barack Obama ever in cahoots with Nixon or the Watergate scandal."

 

[Rughi]

People not from Texas rarely understand the devotion we feel for our own state.

Okay, so this probably isn't true, but it was presented to me as true.

A dad in real estate development gets transfered to Texas. On bring your dad to school day, he's asked to stand in front of his son's (3rd grade?) class and explain what he does for a living.

To begin his talk, he asks the class "Who knows what private property means?"

One boy's hand immediately goes up, and the boy states "IF you step onto someone else's property without permission, you CAN be shot!"

 

[Stubblefield]

Recently, my wife and I got in the habit of doing a little ten minute lesson with our four year old son most evenings, usually after bath time. Sometimes, my wife teaches him how to write his name or I work with him on dinosaurs or outline Texas or repeat the pledge of allegiance or some other typical stuff.

Tell me more about this "dinosaur pledge of allegiance."