So most days, I'm an ok parent. I encourage my kids, keep them clean, feed them, play games, read stories, treat wounds, etc. But every once in a while, when I slow down enough, I get to participate in a real gem of a moment.
Today, as I was washing dishes at the kitchen sink, I noticed Zach was holding a ruler in one hand and eating his mac and cheese with the other. "Do you know what that's for?" I asked. "It tells how big stuff is," he replied, looking at the ruler. I put down the sponge and joined my four-year-old boy. "I wonder how big your mac and cheese box is?" I asked. Without batting an eye, Zach held the ruler up and yelled, "It's 1-2-0!" as if he'd just discovered penicillin.
He was measuring in millimeters, so I turned the ruler around to inches, but he'd have none of that. Apparently he's all about the metric system. So, I asked him if he'd like to measure some things and write his findings down in a notebook, like a character on PBS, "Sid the Science Kid." He loves that show, and immediately ran for his Cars notebook and pencil, which until now, had gone unused.
Zach put the pencil behind his ear as if he'd been doing so for years, and started measuring everything on the table. Then, for the first time, he started writing numbers other than 1 and zero. He'd write down the measurement, and I'd draw a picture of the object next to his number. This went on for almost 20 minutes, and he measured 18 things. He was loving it. I wasn't nudging him along; he was eager to measure and record, measure and record. It was such a great moment. He was so excited and interested, and at the same time practicing new skills he didn't seem to know he possessed.
Today I miss teaching.
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