England Is A Giant Pickel

First a little context:  Like all grandparents, I’m fully aware that my grand kids are way WAY above average.  I remember clearly how impressed we were with the rate at which our children absorbed, understood and applied knowledge.  Our grand kids appear to be accelerating that absorption rate.

Both of our children are from the Sesame Street generation. They learned much of the alphabet and basic math from Sesame Street.  Our kids loved the characters and the incredibly creative way they taught basic subjects.

As Sesame Street has become more politically correct, our kids have replaced it with Veggie Tails for entertaining education.  Veggie Tails has a decidedly Christian foundation and is remarkably engaging and entertaining.  The stories offer fundamental wisdom and knowledge from a Christian world view.  And yes, your 2 & 3 year olds are developing a world view. 

That said, one of my granddaughter’s favorite Veggie Tail episodes is “David and the Giant Pickle, which tells the Bible story of David and Goliath.  Regardless of your position on religion and Bible stories, stories like David and Goliath were foundational in the education of anyone born before 1960.  If you mentioned that story to people of that vintage, almost all of them know the story and understand the life lesson it teaches.

Enter Veggie Tails episode “Dave and the Giant Pickle.”  Even if you don’t care for Bible stories, you should watch this – the story and characters are engaging and habit forming, even for adults.  All of the characters are vegetables with no arms or legs.  In this story, Goliath is a giant pickle.

Granddaughter Sophie loves Veggie Tails.  She knows the stories and is getting a great education and wonderful life lessons from a bunch of vegetables, and I’m not talking about her parents and grandparents.  Like most toddlers, Sophie absorbs everything and, at two and one half years old, is starting to connect the dots.

Now, for a second tier of context.  We live in America.  America is a free country because our forefathers revolted against the British and gained their freedom in 1776.  Instead of apologizing for winning a war (our current mode of national response), we celebrate the violent overthrow of our former leaders and our independence from oppression. 

In that celebration, it’s incumbent upon us to explain to our children what the fireworks and lyrics to great patriotic anthems represent. 

Today is the 4^th of July.  Donna and I were having breakfast when I received a text from my son, Steven.  He had been attempting to explain the 4^th of July to Sophie and it went something like this:

“When I mentioned the reason for the war of independence, Sophie said, "Like David and Goliath!" I said, "Yes! England wanted money and America would not pay so England sent armies."

In an instant – Sophie connected the dots and replied, "England is like Goliath ... England is a giant pickle!" ...

For what it’s worth, our forefathers revolted, engaged and beat the British.  They gained freedom and independence and formed the foundation for one of the greatest societies in world history.  I’m proud to be an American and believe we should openly celebrate our military victories.  So, on this very special day, I’m with Sophie.

England is a giant pickle!