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"What?" he responded quizzically.
"Gravity. That is what makes things fall to the ground when they slip out of your hands."
He gave another puzzled look, prompting his mother to raise a napkin above the table and drop it to the surface. "See how the napkin drops? Gravity is what pulls it down. Gravity is also what keeps us from floating away while we walk around. The Moon has less gravity we do on Earth, that is why things on the Moon float around so easily."
At that Lukas turned over his now empty milk glass. It was a Halloween cup with floating glitter encased in its sides, much like a snow globe. The glitter responded by gently settling to the bottom. He then proceeded to turn the cup from one end to the other studying its reaction.
"Is this Gravity?" he asked as he turned his gaze back to the two of us who were in turn watching his science experiment.
"Yes, it sure is son." I replied. "And do you know why Gravity is making the glitter fall to the bottom when you turn it over?
"Because it's pulling it down?" It was less a question than a statement. "Right!" Mrs. LIAYF and I responded in unison.
It was another proud moment for the both of us, and another indication that our 3 year old is daily grasping more of the intricacies of the world around him. He is growing up before our eyes.
However, that is not all I will take away from this moment. How it came about is yet another reason why I love my wife so much. I spend a large portion of my time interacting with Lukas, showering love and laughter his way and interspersing tidbits of knowledge where I can. But, while Mrs. LIAYF does all of these things as well, she also counterbalances my sometimes over-the-top silliness by constantly identifying and making use of teachable moments in everyday situations.
Such as the example above.
Yes, I am a loving and involved father. The world certainly needs more of those. However, even though this is a dad blog, I would be remiss if I didn't occasionally acknowledge the amazing daily contributions my wife makes to the raising of our son.
We are a team. But she's the one who keeps us all grounded.
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15 comments:
You both are doing such a great job!
very true; it is a team effort. I can't remember the first time I found myself trying to explain gravity. I think I did something stupid like rent a science movie about it or something :-)
Tomorrow you better start out on the Laws of Motion..
Sounds like you and your wife have a great balance. Our house is similar: my wife would be the one to explain the truth about how gravity actually works... after I give our daughter my theory about how it's actually caused by an invisible force field around the Earth that keeps us from floating away.
Sounds like you make a pretty good team. How are you going to explain strong and weak magnetic force?
Next, do the experiment where you drop a spoon and a napkin and see which one lands first. Then ask him why. Voila: intro to air resistance.
What's gonna work? TEEEEEAMwork.
Your guys are awesome. :)
You were right to put that in bold. That is one bright 3yo you have there.
You captured a great moment there. I count on my wife to teach all things scientific. I'm not clever. My knowledge of gravity is pretty much on par with Lucas' right now. It happens because it happens.
I liked that clever pun at the end. Sounds like you make a great team and have a smart 3yo. Next up, algebra!
Great post and I hope she accepts the compliments with a smile.
You know, you're one of the few "Dad" blogs I really enjoy reading because you are able to write something new and unique regarding fatherhood each and every time I read a post of yours. Well done!
BTW... Rangers play tonight. Send well wishes their way to beat those bum Yankees: http://handstowar.wordpress.com/2010/10/22/baseball-is-life/
Like my kids sing, "What's going to work... Team work!"
Wait, that's the Wonder Pets... Ah, forget it.
Pumpkin Ale?!? Really?
And menshealthonline? Who knew.
I'm going to have to add you to my blog role!!!
@Mighty M - Thanks. That is a nice thing to hear.
@Keith - That's kinda like me.
@Eric - Yes. Next time he runs into something. I won't have to wait long.
@Didactic - I like that explanation a lot better.
@Captain - Thanks. And by pointing to his mom and dad as examples, of course.
@Scifi - Perfect. We will be using that one.
@Zen Mom - Ah, thanks.
@Steve - He has his moments. He impresses us a lot. Of course we only have the one child.
@Blogger Father - It usually is the Moms who know that stuff.
@Ordinary Dad - Er, I won't be a big help with the algebra
@Slamdunk - She does.
@PapaK - Gotta stick to what I know. And congrats to the Rangers.
@Urban Daddy - We are, thankfully, ignorant of the Wonder Pets here. Thanks for the visit and the add.
Sometimes I find myself explaining things to my four year old for the first time, and I am awed about the amount of knowledge I actually have in my head if I really think about it. And how the basic things like gravity can be so awe inspiring to a child. It's just really cool.
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