So, we took our son to his first movie today. Pooh’s Heffalump Movie. I thought it was pretty good. Had a good time.
As we left the theater, all of us a little too full of popcorn, my son said, somewhat critically, “We have a TV at home.”
Then, at bed time, Susan asked if he’d enjoyed the day at the show. He said, “Yes, but I want to see zero more movies.”
Ah, much going on here. First, he was mathematically perceptive in using “zero” correctly as a number, as in “I want to see two more movies.” Poor zero has been lost grammatically to “no” . And what in the storyworld bothered him, or at the least, didn’t impress? Perhaps the crowd, a dark theater, the “shushing”, or maybe a large plasma screen is enough for a small boy.
Oops, sorry–it’s also that he’s just plain cute as well.
He was actually very well behaved, as were the other children, except for the kid behind who fell off the chair and hit her head on the floor.
He did, however, keep on asking where the door out was.
I’m more fascinated I think, by the way children learn the language and implement it as they learn. They supposedly hear it correctly–especially at your house–but it is doled out/picked up in bits and pieces. They then must draw from a growing supply of words and phrases that seems limited to our minds, and yet they manage to maneuver it correctly, though not grammatically, into the application. I was struck by the ability of your son to come up with the proper number for what he wanted to say. Sorry for the primarily technical interest; hope the little girl wasn’t hurt.
Yes I wonder if the statement about going to the movie is his way of commenting on the movie itself or if it’s about the experience (the big dark room).
I haven’t braved the “kid movie” experience yet.