It’s amazing how much we teach our children, just through living our daily lives.  We automatically teach values when we drop some money into the cup of a homeless person, let another car into the line of traffic, give outgrown toys away, apologize for a mistake, welcome friends, visit an ill person, help the elderly, stop for an injured animal, live a healthy lifestyle, or appreciate a beautiful day. We can make lots of other learning available pretty easily as well.

One of the best things we can teach through modeling is: how to find answers to what you don’t know. When you use a dictionary to understand a word that's new to you, find a movie starting time in the newspaper, settle a bet by googling something, get directions from Map quest or tune in to a daily weather report, take advantage of the opportunity to show your kids the resource you use and how it provides the information you need.

We know avid readers learn lots, and a literacy-rich environment encourages all kinds of reading. A house full of magazines, maps, coupons, library books, song sheets, take-out menus, post-it reminders and even junk mail sends the message that deciphering words is essential and intriguing and something informed people do with regularity.

As I've mentioned before, cooking with kids is not only fun, it’s full of teaching possibilities and feeds more than the appetite. It allows kids to get involved with with reading a recipe, math (measuring ingredients, tracking cooking time, counting cookies, number of servings and calories), science (changes in matter, effects of temperature, vocabulary such as liquid, solid), small motor skills and coordination (beat, mix, measure, break eggs, remove from pan), following directions, using the senses, and pride in creating a finished product that is usable. Who knew making cookies could be so beneficial!

You expand your child’s understanding of nature just by spending some time outside. And for a quick science lesson disguised as a game, collect leaves from your yard ahead of time, then ask your kids if they can find the plant from which each leaf was plucked. Or, take a walk with your kids and see who can find feathers, snails, bird nests, butterflies, and earthworms. You’ll be surprised at how much else they spot while looking this carefully.  

We often encourage children to follow rules but, when you’re occasionally able to abandon rules, you inspire creativity and teach how to think out of the box. Let your kids try chocolate syrup finger painting (they can write or draw with the syrup on white computer paper, and then lick their fingers clean), or plant some popcorn kernels in a dirt-filled cup instead of popping it (it grows!).

Teach what you know about money too. Children may think it grows on trees because we rarely explain the cycle: we work hard, hopefully at something we enjoy and are good at...we get paid...we put the money in a bank...we spend some...we save some and it gains interest...we may invest some...eventually we have money for big things like a home and car...etc. To a child, it may look like money supplies are endless because we just use a credit card. Add the piece about how not to get knee-deep in debt, by the time they're in junior high.

Show your youngsters how to enjoy real life, not just facsimiles on TV, computer and movie screens. Teach what you enjoy doing (fishing, sewing, ceramics, golf, whatever). Involve your kids in singing, dancing, story-telling, looking at old photos, scrapbooks, board games, cuddling, exercise, and sports. And leave time to let your children teach you something. Showing that we are never too old to learn may just be the best lesson yet.