A confusing thing happened to me when doing @Leapfrog ’s Summer Camp with my twins recently. In an effort to teach kids the names of continents, biomes, and oceans, Leapfrog went over each one in decent detail for younger children. However, there were 5 oceans! To my memory, there were only 4 when I was a kid. I know polar ice caps are melting, but did they seriously melt enough to produce another ocean? Without a memo to the world? There on the website was the usual: Atlantic, Indian, Arctic and Pacific…and a new one called the Southern Ocean. In an effort to ease my confusion and prove to myself I wasn’t crazy, I consulted my world map, which shows the tried and true 4 oceans. Too much has changed since I was in school. Granted, there’s the changing times with new technology and changing geographical borders such as in Eastern Europe, but history shouldn’t change. Yet it has. George Washington didn’t really cut down a cherry tree saying “I cannot tell a lie.” Plus, he had slaves! Where was that in my history book? Columbus gave smallpox blankets to Native Americans? Not cool…and not told to me when I was in school. And Lincoln read by candle light in that old log cabin of his at night? Ummm…there was no electricity. That’s how everyone read. The number of planets shouldn’t change, yet it has. Goodbye, Pluto. Alas, I knew you well. I mean, what did “my very eager mom just serve us” if not PICKLES? And now? A 5th ocean. This is why I’m not smarter than a 5th grader, because they keep changing the game!
