Challenging my intelligence..

Today, began another one of those conversations with my gal that makes me wonder about the best approaches to explain the concept of a "world" to her. Everything is so egocentric in our immediate space. How do you explain the bigger picture?



While playing with her rather large assortment of plastic people, cars, animals, etc., Kenzie began rapid-firing questions at me:
"Mama? Where do the lions live?"
"Mama? Where do the pigs live?"
"Mama? Where do the dogs live?"
"Mama? Where does the dolphin live?"
..the monkeys? ...the giraffe's? .................



She barely paused for a breath, let alone to allow me to answer. I started off by feeding her general answers like - "at a farm, in people's houses, in the jungle, in the ocean." She responds with questions like: "Mama, where's Africa?" "Where's the jungle?" "What's a safari?" She knows where the ocean is -- it's in San Wiego!!! But I realized very suddenly - that my child no longer wishes to accept these simple answers. She has no real perception of what a farm is..what a jungle is...where Africa is...etc., and therefore, I hadn't really answered her first barrage of questions at all.



As we were playing, I started collecting toys that might explain this better than my words were. A toy map, a tree (for the monkeys), a farm. And, then I tried to help a toddler understand that there were many different places to live, but that they all are part of the "world."
I'm a Dummy.



She seemed to consider these explanations, but of course the reasoning was lost on her. And, then by chance - she picks out a toy dinosaur. She put him in the farm. I breathed a sigh of relief as there was no question attached. I wouldn't have had a clue how to explain that one....

I'm gonna have to give some thought about how to address this next time it comes around. Because it will. Hopefully I'll feel smarter after our next conversation like this????