Making Meaning with the Simpsons

In the education world, "making meaning" has learners working towards gaining of deeper understanding of content that goes beyond basic facts.  Learners demonstrate what they learned in a way that makes sense to them, use references and resources to support their idea.  As a teacher I try to help students make "make meaning," but sometimes you just have to let kids do it themselves.

Today while I was cooking dinner, I heard a little voice repeating to no one in particular, "Ow, quit it. Ow, quit."  Only hearing it in the background, I didn't process what was going on but simply remembered the very first Christmas episode of the Simpsons.  In this episode, Bart decides that what his mom would love for Christmas is for him to get a tattoo of the word, Mom, on his arm.  The result is spending all holiday money on laser tattoo removal.  As Bart sits on the couch, his siblings repeatedly poke his arm.  As they do so, Bart says each time, "Ow, quit it."

Back in the kitchen I'm busy with dinner.  I hear "Ow, quit it," again and sense movement by my leg.  I look down and see Robin covering his arm with a moist towel.  Beneath it was the temporary tattoo he had asked about earlier.

                              MY 5 YEAR OLD WAS MAKING MEANING OF THE SIMPSONS!

It was a proud mom moment.  On one level, Robin was demonstrating higher level thinking skills and making connections.  On an even better level, my son is awesome because he likes the Simpsons and already appreciates its humor at a young age.