Well I agree you should write a book. Your insight and clever way of explaining things I think would be refreshing to someone else facing the same hardships, as well as, help explain the process. I think your humor would help other patients cope and could be an important part of their cure. Try not to scare them too much if you write a book.

I would agree the more you know about a topic the easier it is to learn more about that topic then someone who has not been exposed at all. People tend to be more interested in a topic they know something about already. When everything you are learning is new it is hard to retain everything you are learning but if there is only a few new things it is easier to remember the new items.

Well Chipsa it is nice to see you have a sense a humor about this. I imagine I am one of few here to have experienced menopause and I think it is really cruel that on top of chemo you now have menopause. I wish you the best.

It sounds like a great idea, except I doubt mine would sit still for it. Maybe he would if there was another baby on the other end.

Must be nice. Guns are an awful part of our world. Hard to imagine a place without guns. Several kids here die every year because the adults are careless with their guns and the kids kill themselves.

[know a target and beyond]

I do not think I would show all those. I would concentrate more on safety and how he could get hurt.

Teach them not to point a firearm at anyone. Teach your children if they see a gun they should not touch it and they should leave the area immediately and tell adult. Teach him the difference between a real gun and a toy. Never assume a gun is not loaded. Teach them how to know a target and beyond in case they miss or in the future if they are using a real gun or bb gun how it can go through a target and hit something else. There is a lot of safety issues a child must learn about a gun before  I would teach them all those weapons you listed.

Tell him when he learns all the safety issues and respect for a gun then you will teach him about guns.

Even those toys guns can hurt someone if not used properly like shooting someone up close in the eye.

This site is very good. The only problem is the voice is computerized.

http://www.kidsknowit.com/interactive-educational-movies/index.php

educational movies for kids on math, history, biology, chemistry, physics, parts of speech, astronomy

If you look to the side you will see topics on dinosaurs, geography, geology, human body, chemistry, biology, animals, spelling, history

I suggest you teach him how dangerous they are and what happens to little ones who play with the real thing. Then you can teach him some facts about them. I wouldn't go overboard and include some safety issues in the lesson. I do not think you can teach about guns without explaining death to your child. Young children can not understand death. But I also think that avoiding topics like guns that are dangerous could be a problem especially if he is really interested. Just be careful what you teach and try not to spark a larger interest.

Teaching kids to brush teeth is more painful then potty training. I think you just teach them the right way, and hopefully it is not harmful all the toothpaste they eat. I am sure every kid eats their fair share of toothpaste and I haven't heard of anyone getting sick, so I do not worry about it.

I think this is a very good article. Memorization is like a muscle in your brain and when used it gets better. But I agree that memorization is not a sign of a prodigy. Memorization will help you do better in school. The ability to memorize and the desire to learn are the keys to being successful it a traditional school but not necessarily life. Teaching a good work ethic, perseverance through a problem, ability to get along with others, etc is crucial to being successful is the world.

I think this is what the McDume person keeps trying to tell us. This is why I say a mixture of what he is promoting and what we do here is important. I think it is important to do well in school and in life. I think the McDume way will teach the good work ethic, perseverance through a problem, and hopefully be a motivation tool to learn, but I think it is also good to teach some memorization skills and nurture the child a bit more then he promotes.   

Some of it is the brain the child is born with not necessarily genetics (smart kids are born from not so smart parents), some of it is their personality and motivation, and some of it is environment. Even at this young age I see motivation to learn playing a major role. Some kids are like a sponge and soak up everything a parent can teach them and some kids are more interested in physical activity or something else. I think the brain is still a mystery and an area that many advances will be made in the future. 

But I do think early education is essential. It is like teaching your child manners, safety, etc. If education is not important and shown to them at an early age it probably won't be important to them when they get older either.

I know when I was growing up my parents never told me what they expected but I had my own idea based on my environment what was expected of me for education, boyfreinds etc. It was my concept of what my parents expected that motivated me. I had three brothers and two were much less motivated although at least one probably had more natural intelligence. Motivation is a key but certain amount is what you are born with. So the environment needs to be not only one that teaches but that motivates them to learn.

Yes, the $2 toy microphone is a nice way to encourage speech. You start by trying to get them to ba ba ba. I think this helped my grandson speak.

Playing with one toy at a time and putting it away when you are done is a nice rule. They probably have to be at least 18 mos to two years for this rule. Makes for a happier parent not to have to pick up a mess all the time. I think you can demonstrate the rule for your child at this age.

This is incredible! I am not sure I have the patience to teach my little one how to do that. I bought him that stuff for Christmas but when I saw all the little parts, I put it up for when he gets older. Colin is about a year younger then your son, so now I am thinking maybe I can start to teach him how to do this. I am just not sure that I can take it.

I think genetics and environment both play a role.