Narration from a four-year-old

We're not schooling through the summer, but we do continue narrating after we've read something.  I begin with one child, let them talk for a minute or two, and then call on another child to pick up where they left off.  We're reading about Abram.  Yesterday, I began with this passage from Hurlbut's Story of the Bible:

He journeyed far up the great river Euphrates to the mountain region, until he came to a place called Haran, in a country called Mesopotamia.  The word Mesopotamia means "Between the rivers"; and this country was between the two great rivers Tigris and Euphrates.

I read several other paragraphs, and then it was time for narration.  I wrote a few of the words on the dry erase board: Euphrates, Haran, Mesopotamia- to help the kids recall the trickier words.

I asked Audra (4) to start.  This is what she said:

"Well.  There was this big bird...."

I must have looked puzzled because she stopped, mid-narration.  I was thinking that generally she listens so well and is actually able to retell what we read fairly accurately, but figured she must be being silly-- and yet, the look on her face was so earnest (not a silly look at all), so I was puzzled.  Finally I said, "Well, honey.  There wasn't a bird in this story."

My astute eight-year-old (Isaias) didn't miss a beat and said:  "I know what she's talking about, mommy.  She's talking about Haran.  You know: the bird?  A heron?"  

AHA!

"Oh, honey.  Now mommy understands.  Good job!  It is the same sounding word, but the Haran in this story is a place, not a bird."

Satisfied, she continued her narration:

"...and there was a river with tigers there!"

(Tigers = Tigris) :)



I love four-year-olds.