Monday, April 28, 2008

Rumors in the Air

We seem to be the go-to house for a few of the kids in our neighborhood. I don't mind so much (most days). Our kids have friends to play with and I know that they are safe in my yard (until they start jumping from the tree house and flipping each other over on the hammock). This also allows me sometimes to be privy to insider information that, as they grow older, will be protected deep in their brains and only shared with 1700 of their closest friends.

The other night, a couple of the kids were over and I was swinging them on the hammock and they were talking about one of the other friends who hadn't shown up yet. Jack said that he heard that the friend who hadn't shown up yet had gotten "anxious one day on the playground waiting to use the monkey bars so shoved the kid in front of her and she fell off and broke her arm." Jack, Luke, and another friend that was over agreed that they did not believe this to be true, because the girl in question was way too nice to do something like this. I also could have pointed out that she was the size of a toothpick and unlikely able to shove anyone with enough force to break someone's arm. Instead, I asked them this: "Does anyone know what a rumor is?"

Luke, who is four and quick to remind you that he is almost five, said, "Yeah. It's when one person says something about someone that may not be true but then other people spread it around anyway." Here is the definition of rumor from Webster: A story or statement in general circulation without confirmation or certainty as to facts. Luke will be accepting diplomas on Saturday.


I told him that he was exactly correct, and he told me, very proudly, "I learned that from Veggie Tales." So that got me thinking - which one of those mean little veggies was spreading rumors?


12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow - Don't think my kids have any idea what a rumor is (at 5 and 3) but I also don't think they strike up those kinds of conversations anyhow (yet).

I'll have to keep an ear out and once they do, I'll try to find which veggie tale is the culprit.

Angie @ KEEP BELIEVING said...

I'm sure it was archibold. he's so pompous.

KEEP BELIEVING

Unknown said...

I love veggie tales!! I am so impressed he knew that. I know some adults who DO NOT know what a rumor is.

MP said...

We skipped Veggie Tales.. But yep..there are SO many things the people learn from TV/Movies..I'm STILL learning. I watched a documentary on HBO yesterday about Autism..wow..eye opening. So at 41 I learn about autsim and at 5 he's learing about rumors from Veggie Tales..it's all good!!

Amanda said...

Little Smarty Pants - good job!

Anonymous said...

What a smart little cutie!

Loth said...

Yay! The Rumour Weed! We have that one, courtesy of our American/Irish/studied in Switzerland friend from New Jersey! Personally though I prefer the David and Goliath one. I like the peas.

Monica said...

Too funny, I have totally forgotten about Vegie Tales. My kids were almost too old for that show when they came out. I had a hard time getting them to watch it. They kept telling me they were too old and not interested.

Texasholly said...

See, that whole turn off your TV for a week was totally overrated!

I love being the go-to house. I know how I supervise kids...

Unknown said...

Wow...that is nothing short of amazing. I love hearing such great knowledge coming out of the mouths of the little ones.

We need some Veggie Tales in Canada, I've never even heard of it.

PS. Thanks for stopping by my blog yesterday, your comment was much appreciated!

Kathy said...

My son is 12 and knows all about rumors, middle school is good for those. Luckily, my daughter is 6 and has no clue about rumors yet. Maybe I need to put on Veggie Tales!

www.kathy-iamwhoiam.blogspot.com

Damama T said...

Smart kiddo! The people who came up with Veggie Tales, in my opinion, rank right up there with the creators of School House Rock.

...and for those who don't think their kids know what rumors are yet, ask. You might be surprised.