We’re eating popcorn and apples and grapes, and going over the review questions outlined in the Story of the World, volume 3, by Susan Wise Bauer. We’re on Chapter 19, in which India collapses due to a string of weak emperors, and in which the English subsequently take control of the country, via the East India Company’s hired armies.
Me: Who decided to send an army against Siraj and the Indians of Bengal?
6-year-old: Um… the… um… the…
9-year-old: The traders?
6-year-old: HEY! I WAS GONNA SAY THAT!
Me (quietly): That’s okay… calm down… do you remember the name of the traders?
Silence. Blank stares. My 9-year-old flips her coloring page over to start doodling on the back of it.
Me: The East India Company…. Think for a second how weird that is. What if Wal-Mart got mad because we never shop there and hired an army to attack us?
They both start giggling.
Me: And who led the army of the East India Company?
9-year-old: Um…(flips her coloring picture back over to read the caption at the bottom)…Robert Clive.
Me: And after the battle, Mir Jafar became the new nawab of Bengal. But what happened when he didn’t do what the people of the East India Company wanted him to do?
9-year-old: They sent another army and attacked him.
Me: That’s right. And then what laws did the people of Bengal start to follow?
6-year-old: Ummm…. No hitting?
More giggles all around.
Me, trying not to laugh too much: No… not that kind of laws. Bengal wasn’t exactly a “no-hitting” city.
6-year-old, all excited, because this time she’s surely GOT THE ANSWER: No pinching?!?
Thus ends our history lesson for the day.
I’m proud of the six-year-old for not glazing over completely. My world history knowledge is utterly pathetic.
Shoot, my current-events are nearly as bad. Way to go, 6YO!!!
Yesterday was SOTW4 chapter 6 for us — the Dominion of Canada. A slice of the unrelenting silliness:
“Many of the provinces wanted to join into a ‘federation’. What three things would this federation have of its own?”
“Starships! And Starfleet Academy!”
“Did it have one of those big assemblies where they floated around in the middle like the Galactic Senate?”
“Yeah, what happened if you fell out of one of those? Did you just fall to the bottom, or float, or what? They didn’t have safety rails on those.”
Every. Single. Question. was a new explosion of giggling and new opportunity for a comedy routine.
Nice to see we weren’t alone.
Gail,
Tell the girls I said: “Make it so!”
LOL.
Ha!!! Hahahahaha!!!
My daughter is six, and everything has to do with mermaids! Prehistory study – interrupted by the declaration that mermaids evolved along side the dinosaurs and survived the meteor crash because they could go deep, deep under water.
Solar system studies – “mom, did you know that there are mermaids living in the polar ice cap on Mars?”
And spelling lessons are very hard to do when you are “swimming under water and can’t open your mouth or you will let all your air out!”
Knock-Knock…is anyone home? E
I just wanted to say “Hi,” and I hope all is well in your RegularWorld. Smooches to you all!
Knock, Knock…Hello…is anyone home?
Do I hear puppies barking?
Regular Mom? Regular Dad? Is there anybody in there? Just not if you can hear me. Is there anyone at home?
Miss you…come on…just a quick post to apease the masses, please.
Just wanted to drop in and say “Hi!” I’ve seen you off and on around the WTM, so I know you’re alive. Feel free to blog anytime,