Beach Boys vs Backstreet Boys

Joey is now a full-fledged reader. I am amazed at how much her reading ability has improved in this past year. Her teacher is recommending that she begin reading chapter books. Though I would like for her to tackle War and Peace soon, I figure we would just ease into it with some fun books like Junia B Jones, Magic Tree House, and Amelia Bedelia.

Joey has been reading Amelia Bedelia for a while now and those books bring back memories. I read Amelia Bedelia when I was younger and I remember not understanding the idioms or phrases used in the book. I didn't get the humor of the book at all though I understood the premise of the book. To a certain degree, I felt like Amelia Bedelia. Even though I was born and raised here in the states, I am definitely the child of immigrant parents and a lot of things that are so ingrained in American culture are things I am still trying to figure out.

I realized that there are some lessons learned through formal education and other lessons learned through parents. So I have decided to take it upon myself to teach our kids music. And I'm not talking about Beethoven. If our kids never learn to distinguish between Fur Elise or Clair de Lune, it's somewhat forgivable. But if our kids don't know the difference between the Beach Boys and the Backstreet Boys, they may end up as the idiot on Jay Leno's "Jay Walking" one day.

So I have been forcing the kids to listen to the radio in the car, instead of Raffi or the Wiggles (thank God I am finally free!). And whenever a song comes on that I deem worthy of retention in their mental music catalogs, I yell out the singer and title of the song. I sing along to try to get them into it, but the girls are not interested at all. Sam, on the other hand, is enjoying it for the most part. Now he asks me who is singing when we listen to the radio and he always repeats the name as if he will actually remember.

Sam: Who's this, Mommy?
Me: This is Soft Cell.
Sam: Sah Sel?
Me: Mm-hmm, Soft Cell singing Tainted Love.

Next song...
Sam: Who's this, Mommy?
Me: This is Taylor Sw...never mind. I'm sure in a few years, we'll all be over her.
Sam: Never mind?
Me: Mm-hmm, Baby, never mind.