Peas...and carrots

I think that my wife and I have done a pretty good job raising our kids. They are as well adjusted as anyone can be in this world. They are all extremely smart and curious and adventurous. We may be too protective a parents as far as some are concerned, but I think that's warranted nowadays.

One thing that we started teaching our kids really early, and one of the things that I think sets them apart from a lot of other kids, is how to be polite. We often have people tell us how polite our children are, as they hold the door for others, say thank you - unprompted, when warranted, etc.

My youngest is still working on proper enunciation of some of his words, and I like to joke with him about it as I help him learn. He has a hard time with compound consonants, so when he wants something, he says peas instead of please. After he says that I say, "and carrots." It's become a little game between he and I and he knows that he needs to slow down, focus and say please before he gets what he's asking for. It's a little corny, to continue with the whole vegetable theme, but he enjoys it and he's learning at the same time.

Learning has to be fun for kids to really enjoy it. There's a place for wrote memorization in the mix too (addition tables, multiplication tables, etc), but to really instill a sense of wanting to learn in our kids, we try to keep it fun. When they as a simple question, rather than just giving the answer, I provide that extra little nugget of knowledge, and them draw them in deeper. They really like that and they learn a lot more than if we just answered the question asked.

The other day all of the kids and I went on a "penny walk." We walked around the neighborhood for a couple of miles, but to keep it fun and interesting, I asked them science questions as we walked. For each one that they got right I gave them a penny (immediate reward. Good thing I had a whole pocketful in anticipation!). These were questions about things like planets, plants, light, motion, elements, construction, balloons, etc. I had to toss a few easier ones for the 3-year old that weren't as hard ("Name a character on Sesame Street who lives in a trash can," for instance), but he got into it as well. It cost me 35-40 cents, but we got exercise, family time, education, fresh air, fun and some time away from the computer and TV our of it. Not a bad deal.