I recently became employed at an elementary school. One of my responsibilities is to supervise "kindergarten arrival." This means the kids are dropped off by the bus or parents at 12:25 but they aren't let in their classrooms until 12:45, so they play on the kindergarten playground for 20 minutes and are supervised by me.
When I was in kindergarten, older kids would yell "kindergarten babies, born in the gravy." I have no idea what that means. It can't be that bad, gravy is mmm-mmm-good. I guess that's why kindergarten kids have their own playground now, so as to not be teased and taunted by older kids.
My baby is nine, so hanging out with kids who are five has reminded me of what innocence is all about. These kids have no inhibitions. Some things I've heard on the playground include, "Wanna be friends? Sure! Friends forever." "Who wants to play pirate?" (That one was yelled really loud). "Your hair looks cute today." "Let's hold hands."
I love to see them negotiate games of tag and duck, duck, goose. They have few insecurities that I can see and they certainly don't fear the swine flu. I love the openness and love the kids have for each other. I think we could learn a lot from these little people.
They say youth is wasted on the young. I disagree.
We Know Better
6 days ago
I used to get called that too. My husband is a little younger and never heard of it. He think's it's the funniest thing he ever heard. I have never had the first idea what it meant. My kindergarten friends and I used to try to puzzle it out and then we just laughed. Of all the insults Ive gotten in my life, that one had the power of a nerf ball.
ReplyDeleteToday, over 60 years after I started trying to figure it out, it hit me - To be "In the gravy" is a Depression era expression to mean to have come into money - usually easily got money. So Depression era children who resented the post Depression ones likely meant it as "you pampered little things have it easy". That would explain why it faded not long after I (an early 50's baby) got the treatment. Curiously, I have not found this explanation online, however "in the gravy" does show up - which I think pretty well confirms the origin.