It's Official—Joely's a Sponge

Little ones have big ears is an expression that mirrors the concept of learning while listening.

As part of our homeschooling schedule, we've been reading through The Fallacy Detective on Fridays, and the kids have thoroughly enjoyed it. The last section of the book covers propaganda, so we've been discussing specific aspects of propaganda for the last few weeks.

And Joely, my five year old, has been in the room each and every time.

So this Friday, I began our lesson by reviewing with Jaden and Jerah each type of propaganda that we've already discussed. I started by saying:

"Appeal to…"

And Jaden said, "Pity!"

"Appeal to…"

And Jerah said, "Fear!"

And I didn't get another word out of my mouth before I heard Joely shout, with perfectly enunciation, "Exigency!"

And she was right. Exigency* was one of the propaganda techniques we've recently discussed.

Now Joely wasn't able to explain what exigency actually meant, but the fact that she remembered the word and pronounced it correctly made it official.

Joely is a sponge. I am glad she is learning while listening to the lessons of her siblings.HoeHome

(*Exigency is the propaganda technique where one is encouraged to make a decision based on the urgency of the situation—such as "Time is running out—the sale ends at midnight!" or "If you don't do it now, you may never get another chance.")