We encourage our kids to communicate clearly - referring to exactly what they want or are talking about - and also read books to them that ask them to point to objects on the pages...
...but discourage them from pointing at other people when that person is the subject of a question or conversation.
After recent years' controversy over the awarding of the Nature Photo of the Year to what some would consider undeserving entries, this years' winners seem to indicate a return to classical - but still spectacular - nature photos.
I particularly like #2, #7, #11, #13, #16, #17, #18, #19, #24, and #27.
We praise our children for behaving like big boys and girls and encourage them to eat well, so that they grow up to be big and strong...
...then we show them how small they really are by building a scale model of the solar system where the Earth is represented by a potting stone.
Ok, maybe not everyone does this, but if you want to all you need is an exercise ball (sun), a candy eye (Mercury), two potting stones (Venus, Earth), a peppercorn - preferably red - (Mars), a softball (Jupiter), a baseball (Saturn), two superballs (Uranus, Neptune), and two, optional, mustard seeds (Pluto and our Moon).
We try our best to teach our kids not to be too materialistic, to think not only of wealth, and to consider the consequences of exploiting natural resources...
...then we play games which are based purely on the quest for money, property, diamonds, and such.
One of the big challenges of parenting begins even before your child is born: picking a name. (Well, if you follow the Finnish tradition you get a few months to decide on a name after the child is born. However, that only delays the challenge.)
So where do you begin?
Family names and baby name books are good starts, but after a while you realize that everything is a source of ideas. Suddenly, scrolling television and movie credits become more interesting as do the authors of childrens' books and the names of people interviewed on the news. The Sunday newspaper also gives an idea of what names are popular at the moment. But thanks to the Finnish Population Register Center (väestörekisterikeskus) you can dig a bit deeper into the statistics.
For example, you might remember that when Ronan was born only 17 other Ronans have been registered and now there are 28 (1 in 2009, 0 in 2008, 2 in 2007, 2 in 2006, 4 in 2005). I'm one of 7202 and Aino one of 66798 throughout the period the records have been kept. (Go ahead, check the popularity of your name.)
You can also explore the list of most popular Finnish names or the Finnish name day calendar.
Then there's the question of language compatibility and, if it's important, consistency with other names in the family (currently O and N are common to all our names). And if you're into patterns it's interesting to note that that gaps between our names would suggest that the name should begin with I (because from J to A is 17 letters, from A to R is 17 letters, and R to I is 17 letters).
In all likelihood, the perfect name is in there somewhere. If you spot it, let us know.
We try our best to shield our children from the violence and evils in modern movies and television...
...so we read "classic" children's literature, which are full of beheadings, stabbings, domestic violence, murder, and prison sentences.
We teach our kids not to push, not to throw things, not to hit things, and not to kick things...
...then we pay a lot of money to have the privelige to take our children in the mornings and evenings to learn from sporting experts how to push others, how to throw things, how to hit things, and how to kick things.
(Clarification: we haven't reached this point yet.)
We teach our kids at length on how to feed themselves with a fork and spoon...
...but we scold them for feeding themselves the "cake" and "ice cream" at the sandbox, no matter how well they use the spoon.
We teach our kids not to play with their food...
...then we take them to the sandbox to make "cakes", "ice cream", "coffee", and "tea" and then "play eat".
Stay tuned for more in this new series of contradictory observations.
I've finally finished the project that's been in our shed and in my head for over a year: a mölkky game set with carrying/scoring aparatus. That's a bit of a mouthful, so I'll just call it mökkimölkkypölkkymörkö for short. After all it looks like a bogeyman (mörkö) made of blocks (pölkky) carrying the Finnish wooden game (mölkky) that you often play at the summer cabin (mökki), right?
The whole set can be hung by the rope for storage. When you find a good place to play, just jab the stick into the ground to set the line behind which you throw. (I've noticed that without a clear marker, the starting line has a tendancy to drift as you play.)
Then set up the skittles as you would with any other mölkky set (numerical order shown is not according to official rules).
Not only is the carrier a starting line marker, but it also serves as a scoring aparatus. (Like the throwing line, scores have a tendency to drift during play too.) To score, move your colored clothespin around on the numbered screws. One through twelve is on one side of the post, 13 through 24 on the opposite side (both in red). Then turn the clothespin over to the side marked with green and repeat the pattern for 25 through 48. The screw for 49 is in the front (and since 50 points wins the game there's no need for an additional screw.)
