Dreadful general knowledge?? year5

[mebaasmum]

I was reading with ds2 last night age9 year5. One line in the book was "I'll wager the bay mare is with foal" Anyway he clearly didnt understand so we went through it. Didnt know wager, fair enough. What is a mare? reply. The guy who runs the town like a lord mayor! Me its a female horse . Q What is a foal?? Dont know. So we went through some other animals and their young. Goats, didnt know, fish, no, pigs, sheep cows ok. Now I know I had a more rural upbringing but i was a bit shocked. I obviously failed in his pre school education

Just asked DD1 (6.5y) - she knows what a foal is but not a mare, and not wager either.

What are baby fish called?

fishlings?
Fishlets?

my ds(8) said he knew what a mayor was (not a mare though)

though he told me earlier that the lady down the road is growing a baby

Thats useful to know. Thanks.I was just a bit surprised but as I said I had a more rural upbringing.

I'd expect my nine year old to know "mare" and "foal", but not "wager", and not to know that "with foal" meant pregnant.

However, I am of a rural background, and taught him stuff like this when he was little. (becasue we had a lift the flap book called "whose baby" which he loved) BTW we always said "in foal" or "in calf", though people do say "with child" (in the bible anyway)

I think a lot of children learn this kind of info by rote in nursery, but forget it later as they have no day-to-day use for it.

BTW I'd also feel a bit piqued if DS couldn't explain the difference between bay, chestnut and "brown". I'm going to test him tomorrow, and will report back, no doubt suitably chastened, because his head is now filled with football players, teams names, stadiums, car makes and top speeds etc.

Ds's childminder thought he had a language/developmental delay as he was unable to tell her the name of the goat's baby aged 3. I refrained from pointing out that there are very few goats in our part of town and that a child who can tell a male from a female mallard would probably be able to deal with goats when and as they presented themselves.

purpleduck, i think the answer is minnow. I learnt it in Tweenies

Ds (also 9) could tell you what a mare and a foal are but then he rides and likes animals generally.

But on other things I'm [shocked] at his level of general knowledge. For example he could tell you how the Alps were made (saw it on Discovery or the History Channel t'other day) but I don't think he'd be able to find Europe, let alone the Alps, on a globe. And he has an eff-off big map of the World over his bed - has had for years.

I too have failed/am failing

Yet another way in which the Tweenies are wrong.

Baby fish are called fry. Minnow is (I think) a generic term for little fish - bit like tiddler.

I dont watch it anymore.

I don't think I know the difference between 'bay' and 'brown' ... unless you're horsey it doesn't really matter does it?

Though I was a bit suprised in an Alex Rider book where the baddie has a white stallion and the boy has a grey as I had some idea that white horses were called 'greys' but then that has me wondering WTF an actual grey horse is called.