Since my first born son was in my arms I talked and shared the world with him. I recently observed a father doing this same thing to his very young daughter. He held her in his arms so she could sit forward and look out. He pointed to the full moon above and the water around them. I watched and remembered talking about the moon with my son. He called it a "ball" and wanted very much to hold it. He reached his three year old self as far as he could, when he found that he couldn't reach high enough, he stretched his arms up to me while keeping his eyes focused on the moon. He wanted to be high in my arms in hopes to be able to reach it. The elementary teacher in me began gathering materials to nourish his new moon discovery. I soon had a three year old who not only learned about the moon, but also talked about rockets, the shuttle, and NASA. I love being the first to show my children the world and feeding knowledge into their budding interest, especially when I love the subject as well. It is a such nice gift God gives us as parents.
I have recently increased the life skills for my oldest son who will be ten years old in January. My expectations on what I think he should have mastered at his age is being met with pride in himself. He has a growing independence which I'm very fond of encouraging. I've let my oldest son cook with me since he was small— I put him on a chair and stood between him and the stove. He stirred and then rinsed the dishes in the sink. I think it kept him invested in the meal I made and sparked confidence with cooking meals.
He recently spent time alone with his grandparents. During his stay he was taught how to prepare fish. He spent several minutes telling me every detail of his preparation and cooking steps. What a surprise to hear that cooking wine was also a step. I giggled as I was also shocked, but his sincerity about his exciting experience creating this advanced meal, made me very proud. As a parents I was thinking...fire? wine for a ten year old? then...oh, yes, we cook with wine when we are ten we don't drink wine when we are ten, whew! Still trying to work through that one, especially when he says, oh yes, wine makes food taste better. eh.
Anyway, I gave him praise and high-fives while trying to hide the "eh" on my face. I'll try to drum up some wisdom for the new issue of "wine making things taste better when you're ten" for future discussions.
I have enjoyed sharing scripture memory and bible knowledge with him, my love for Auburn football, hiking, swimming, snow fun, music, art, research, animals, nature... oh so much more I have shared, and so much I have learned from his interest. I know all the heavy machinery equipment's names and use. I at one time knew all of the dinosaurs, that was the next love for him after the moon. I love spending time with him, he is such a great kid to get to know.
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