Do You Teach? and How?

honestly, as an Eagle Scout, my advice is to get him into Boy Scouts. If you get involved, it will give him a way to kind of compete with his peers (trust me, we raced to see who got the merit badges done fastest and/or best), and a way to have something to show off for dad. Trust me, if you let him get involved with Scouts and you don't at least show interest, it will be heartbreaking. It was for me, because my mom was more interested in Scouts than my dad was, and before I started working on my Eagle Project, I could count on fingers the number of times that he came to BS events.

If he's interested in cars, maybe make that as an incentive to work towards his Eagle Rank. He will appreciate both more if you do that.

Skills he will learn if he becomes an Eagle Scout:
orienteering, swimming, knot-tying, life-saving, camping, shooting, carving (sort of), cooking, planning meals, personal time management, personal health management, he'll learn a code of ethics... there's a buttload of others.

I know it sounds trite, but not a day goes by that I don't use a skill I learned in Boy Scouts.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I will, just what to make sure that I cover the basics. As girls and cars take hold in the next year or so, I fear MY time will be limited.

Scouts is a good idea that I never considered.

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Originally Posted by Hirlau

he brought the can to me explaining that the can was "bad".

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Some help on how he can best express himself would help no end. Often the key to obtaining good advice is a well phrased question.

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Originally Posted by 96firephoenix

honestly, as an Eagle Scout, my advice is to get him into Boy Scouts. If you get involved, it will give him a way to kind of compete with his peers (trust me, we raced to see who got the merit badges done fastest and/or best), and a way to have something to show off for dad. Trust me, if you let him get involved with Scouts and you don't at least show interest, it will be heartbreaking. It was for me, because my mom was more interested in Scouts than my dad was, and before I started working on my Eagle Project, I could count on fingers the number of times that he came to BS events.

If he's interested in cars, maybe make that as an incentive to work towards his Eagle Rank. He will appreciate both more if you do that.

Skills he will learn if he becomes an Eagle Scout:
orienteering, swimming, knot-tying, life-saving, camping, shooting, carving (sort of), cooking, planning meals, personal time management, personal health management, he'll learn a code of ethics... there's a buttload of others.

I know it sounds trite, but not a day goes by that I don't use a skill I learned in Boy Scouts.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

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One of the most important lessons you failed to mention: How to be a good person and good man. It seems to me that has lost some value in some circles but IMHO it is as important as ever. Boy Scouts is a great way for any boy to learn.

Oh, my Mother insisted that I learn to cook, sew and do my own wash. I thank her for that every time I see her.

I have 2 boys and a girl. Boys- 6 and 4, girl 9. My wife homeschools them. They are constantly learning. My daughter cooks and preps meals with my wife for Home Ec type skills. The wife taught my 5 year old (now 6) how to read a few months back and now he is reading everything! The kids (6 and 9) help my reload at times, something they really enjoy. The 2 older kids also shoot. They have a single shot .22 and .410 single shot between the 2 of them. I have been shooting for right at 30 years and have instilled in them the seriousness of shooting and the safety precautions that follow. There are always teachable moments through their upbringing. Plenty to learn. I discourage my kids from getting too involved with video games. I feel it teaches NO retainable skill WHATSOEVER. They are allowed to use the computer once or twice a week for some games, but they like looking at the educational stuff more than games. I try to learn something new every day. Kids are more of a sponge then adults are.

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Originally Posted by Mvcrash

One of the most important lessons you failed to mention: How to be a good person and good man.

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I figured that was included in "he'll learn a code of ethics..." but thank you for clarifying. :D

Props on the eagle scout. Never met an Eagle who was not a well rounded human being, shows a huge accomplishment in life.

Teaching kids is often nothing more than taking an interest in their lives. The opportunities just seem to happen from there. My 12 yo daughter can hand stitch to repair a seam, bakes good cookies from scratch and yet you can not get her to scramble an egg for herself. Though a couple weeks back she made me pancakes and fried eggs, DAD GET UP YOUR BREAKFAST IS READY. Kid loves to cook, and is often there helping if I am making dinner.

Thanks kido, Love you too.

You can't teach 'em everything. I learned a lot at the Boy Scouts. Many things I learnt by doing. My parents taught me a lot on the intellectual side of life, the practical things I taught myself. Like honing and shaving with a striaght razor.

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Originally Posted by Kees

You can't teach 'em everything. I learned a lot at the Boy Scouts. Many things I learnt by doing. My parents taught me a lot on the intellectual side of life, the practical things I taught myself. Like honing and shaving with a striaght razor.

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I understand.
I just want to cover the basics and make his time with me more interesting.
I can't pass on anything from my "intellectual" side, because I don't have one. I basically read, I don't know my multiplication tables or basic subtraction, so I keep a calculator handy. I use spell checker a lot. Never went to college; my coaches got me through high school. Fortunately my son understands his teachers and gets average grades in school.
I have taught him to respect people and animals. To help those who cannot help themselves. To protect himself, to shot & to cook.

I started this thread to get advice from other people on how they teach, what they learned from their parents and what they thought about how they were taught. Everyone here has been great with the comments and advice.

Thanks for contributing your experiences.