Six-year old Sam learns about character
Since I had been away for four days and, of course, my six-year-old neighbor is in school, I had not seen her for over a week. Thus, I was especially happy to see her coming over this morning to visit before she had to leave for school.
Me: Good morning Sam. I sure am glad to see you. I have missed you.
Sam: Hi, Uncle Jim. I missed you too. Did you see snow in Colorado?
Me: Yes, there was some on the ground in Denver when I arrived and a lot on top of the mountains. The day after I left they got a lot more snow.
Sam: I miss snow, but I do not like the cold Uncle Jim.
Me: Me either Sam. It felt really cold in Colorado. Brrrr…
Sam: Who were you visiting Uncle Jim? I forget.
Me: I was visiting my brother’s oldest son, Wendell, his wife Toni, and their two children, Austin and Samantha.
Sam: Oh yeah. I am named after Samantha aren’t I Uncle Jim.
Me: Yes you are. You remind me a lot of Samantha when she was your age.
Sam: How old is she now Uncle Jim?
Me: Samantha is 16 and Austin is 17. Both are now driving and are in high school.
Sam; Do you like them better than me Uncle Jim? Is Sam prettier than me?
Me: She is beautiful, but so are you and no, I do not like them better. I love all three of you.
Sam: But you talk more to me, right Uncle Jim?
Me: Yes, because you live next door and they live far away.
Sam: Austin is her brother? Does he pick on her as much as my brother Paul picks on me?
Me: I think you pick on Paul as much as he picks on you! Yes, they pick on each other but, just like you and Paul, they love each other a lot.
Sam: Why do you like them Uncle Jim?
Me: Well, at first I loved them just because I love their parents and they were cute and sweet. Babies are easy to love.
Sam: I did not like Eldon when he was little. He cried and had stinky diapers a lot!
Me: And now?
Sam: He is okay. He does not cry so much and he does not smell bad most of the time!
Me: Yes, he is almost three now.
Sam: Yes, he is more like a person now Uncle Jim.
Me: What do you mean by that Sam?
Sam: Well, sometimes he can share, he gives nice hugs, and he is funny.
Me: I think you mean that he is already beginning to develop some character. Do you know what that word means Sam?
Sam: No. Do I have to get the dictionary?
Me: Yes, let’s do. Here I put it back on a higher shelf. I will get it. Here it is.
Sam: How do you spell caratrer Uncle Jim?
Me: It sounds like a k but the first two letters are ch. Ch is often pronounced as “K.” So it is char ac ter.
Sam: “Charact ter?
Me: Great. There is only one “t”. It is char ac ter.
Sam: Here it is.
Me: Okay! Shall we read the definition Sam?
Sam: (begins to read from the Oxford dictionary)
· The men tal and mor al qual
This is hard Uncle Jim.
Me: Yes. The mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual. That is confusing to you isn’t it Sam?
Sam: I am only six Uncle Jim! (crosses her arms and sighs)
Me: I know. It is saying that the first definition of character is how a person behaves. For example, part of your character is that you tell the truth, you are kind, you do your homework, and you are smart.
Sam: They could have said that!
Me: Let’s look at the rest of the definition.
· The distinctive nature of something.
A lot of the things in your house are different than mine. For example, we both have lamps in the living room but they are different from each other. So, each of the lamps has character.
Sam: People are different from each other. Paul is not the same as me! (has disgusting look on her face)
Me: Yes. That is the third definition. Very good Sam.
· The quality of being individual, typically in an interesting or unusual way.
· Strength and originality in a person’s nature.
That last one is sort of confusing isn’t it Sam?
Sam: Yes (sigh!)
Me: Remember when you were friendly to your Egyptian and Syrian friends even when some others kids were not. You knew that was the right thing to do and you did it.
Sam: I was glad that I did that Uncle Jim. It was not nice for the other kids to ignore them just because they were different.
Me: I agree Sam. Being kind is part of your character. We could also say that Eldon is beginning to develop some character.
Sam: What about Austin and Samantha. Do they have character?
Me: Yes, they have a lot of character. They both have very active brains. Samantha is not only beautiful, but she is kind and gets really excited about plays, art, cooking, and other things like that. She is very open with her emotions. This is one of the first things that you might notice about her. I think her emotions pull the rest of her along. Kind of like her body was the wagon and something like a horse was pulling the wagon. Samantha is the wagon and her emotions are the horse.
Sam: That is funny Uncle Jim. What about Austin, Uncle Jim?
Me: Austin is very kind to people, plants, and animals. He notices what is going on and takes care of people, plants, and animals. I think Austin is the wagon and his heart and mind together are the horse. He not only notices what is going on, but he also notices how the pieces of things and groups of people fit together.
Austin. What about me, Uncle Jim?
Me: Well, you are six and I think sometimes your emotions are the horse and sometimes your heart is the horse. You are also kind, very smart, and funny.
Sam: But which horse do you like best Uncle Jim.
Me: I love them all Sam. I love it when our emotions help us stay excited about life and make us sad when someone or something is hurt. I also love it when we are kind and make things and people feel better or fix people and things. We humans needs a lot of different horses.
Oh my! Here comes the school bus Sam. We will talk more about character another time. I am really glad you came over to visit this morning. I missed you. How about a hug?
Sam gives Uncle Jim a big hug, grabs her backpack, and runs out the door.
Written November 18, 2015
Since I had been away for four days and, of course, my six-year-old neighbor is in school, I had not seen her for over a week. Thus, I was especially happy to see her coming over this morning to visit before she had to leave for school.
Me: Good morning Sam. I sure am glad to see you. I have missed you.
Sam: Hi, Uncle Jim. I missed you too. Did you see snow in Colorado?
Me: Yes, there was some on the ground in Denver when I arrived and a lot on top of the mountains. The day after I left they got a lot more snow.
Sam: I miss snow, but I do not like the cold Uncle Jim.
Me: Me either Sam. It felt really cold in Colorado. Brrrr…
Sam: Who were you visiting Uncle Jim? I forget.
Me: I was visiting my brother’s oldest son, Wendell, his wife Toni, and their two children, Austin and Samantha.
Sam: Oh yeah. I am named after Samantha aren’t I Uncle Jim.
Me: Yes you are. You remind me a lot of Samantha when she was your age.
Sam: How old is she now Uncle Jim?
Me: Samantha is 16 and Austin is 17. Both are now driving and are in high school.
Sam; Do you like them better than me Uncle Jim? Is Sam prettier than me?
Me: She is beautiful, but so are you and no, I do not like them better. I love all three of you.
Sam: But you talk more to me, right Uncle Jim?
Me: Yes, because you live next door and they live far away.
Sam: Austin is her brother? Does he pick on her as much as my brother Paul picks on me?
Me: I think you pick on Paul as much as he picks on you! Yes, they pick on each other but, just like you and Paul, they love each other a lot.
Sam: Why do you like them Uncle Jim?
Me: Well, at first I loved them just because I love their parents and they were cute and sweet. Babies are easy to love.
Sam: I did not like Eldon when he was little. He cried and had stinky diapers a lot!
Me: And now?
Sam: He is okay. He does not cry so much and he does not smell bad most of the time!
Me: Yes, he is almost three now.
Sam: Yes, he is more like a person now Uncle Jim.
Me: What do you mean by that Sam?
Sam: Well, sometimes he can share, he gives nice hugs, and he is funny.
Me: I think you mean that he is already beginning to develop some character. Do you know what that word means Sam?
Sam: No. Do I have to get the dictionary?
Me: Yes, let’s do. Here I put it back on a higher shelf. I will get it. Here it is.
Sam: How do you spell caratrer Uncle Jim?
Me: It sounds like a k but the first two letters are ch. Ch is often pronounced as “K.” So it is char ac ter.
Sam: “Charact ter?
Me: Great. There is only one “t”. It is char ac ter.
Sam: Here it is.
Me: Okay! Shall we read the definition Sam?
Sam: (begins to read from the Oxford dictionary)
· The men tal and mor al qual
This is hard Uncle Jim.
Me: Yes. The mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual. That is confusing to you isn’t it Sam?
Sam: I am only six Uncle Jim! (crosses her arms and sighs)
Me: I know. It is saying that the first definition of character is how a person behaves. For example, part of your character is that you tell the truth, you are kind, you do your homework, and you are smart.
Sam: They could have said that!
Me: Let’s look at the rest of the definition.
· The distinctive nature of something.
A lot of the things in your house are different than mine. For example, we both have lamps in the living room but they are different from each other. So, each of the lamps has character.
Sam: People are different from each other. Paul is not the same as me! (has disgusting look on her face)
Me: Yes. That is the third definition. Very good Sam.
· The quality of being individual, typically in an interesting or unusual way.
· Strength and originality in a person’s nature.
That last one is sort of confusing isn’t it Sam?
Sam: Yes (sigh!)
Me: Remember when you were friendly to your Egyptian and Syrian friends even when some others kids were not. You knew that was the right thing to do and you did it.
Sam: I was glad that I did that Uncle Jim. It was not nice for the other kids to ignore them just because they were different.
Me: I agree Sam. Being kind is part of your character. We could also say that Eldon is beginning to develop some character.
Sam: What about Austin and Samantha. Do they have character?
Me: Yes, they have a lot of character. They both have very active brains. Samantha is not only beautiful, but she is kind and gets really excited about plays, art, cooking, and other things like that. She is very open with her emotions. This is one of the first things that you might notice about her. I think her emotions pull the rest of her along. Kind of like her body was the wagon and something like a horse was pulling the wagon. Samantha is the wagon and her emotions are the horse.
Sam: That is funny Uncle Jim. What about Austin, Uncle Jim?
Me: Austin is very kind to people, plants, and animals. He notices what is going on and takes care of people, plants, and animals. I think Austin is the wagon and his heart and mind together are the horse. He not only notices what is going on, but he also notices how the pieces of things and groups of people fit together.
Austin. What about me, Uncle Jim?
Me: Well, you are six and I think sometimes your emotions are the horse and sometimes your heart is the horse. You are also kind, very smart, and funny.
Sam: But which horse do you like best Uncle Jim.
Me: I love them all Sam. I love it when our emotions help us stay excited about life and make us sad when someone or something is hurt. I also love it when we are kind and make things and people feel better or fix people and things. We humans needs a lot of different horses.
Oh my! Here comes the school bus Sam. We will talk more about character another time. I am really glad you came over to visit this morning. I missed you. How about a hug?
Sam gives Uncle Jim a big hug, grabs her backpack, and runs out the door.
Written November 18, 2015
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