Mayflower Musings

Small One goes to church preschool three days a week, and I really like her school. Truly. It becomes apparent during the holiday season, though, that this school does not particularly concern itself with the issue of political correctness. This is ok with me, because I definitely think it's possible to go too far the other way, but it does make me giggle when she sings songs like "Little Indian Flying Cloud" which ends with the traditional Native American greeting, "How!".

Today, she got into the car with a drum made from a coffee can, on which she had drawn what she called "A Mayflower." Now, I know that her primary source of information about this vessel is probably "The Mouse on the Mayflower", a fine film narrated and sung by Tennessee Ernie Ford, which she viewed at school after last week's Thanksgiving luncheon. Therefore, I had some questions.

"What do you know about the Mayflower?" I asked.

"Um...nothing," she replied, "except that it's a boat that looks like this." (indicating the drawing on her drum)

"Do you want me to tell you about it?" I asked.

"Of course!" she answered.

"Well," I began, "the Mayflower sailed from England with a bunch of people on it..."

"Yes!" she interrupted, "Those were the Pilgrims!"

"Yes," I confirmed, "Those were the Pilgrims. And they sailed across..."

"The ocean!" she sang out, "All the way over to where the Indians lived!"

"Yes," I said, "to what is now the United States of America. And they left England because..."

"The king wouldn't let them pray the way they wanted to!" she crowed.

So, yeah. For someone who doesn't know anything about the Mayflower, she knows a surprising amount about the Mayflower. Good job, Tennessee Ernie Ford! And, of course, Small One's school.