Basics
By Braddah Lance
Talking to a friend da oddah day, we came across some hannah-battah dayz kine memories of how we used to just play outsided everyday and wen we went ovah each oddahs house, we used to make any kine stuff from da fridge.
Then it hit me, wat should a growing keiki know? Learn? Well besides education, wat "life" experiences should one posses as a keiki before 6th grade?
I started to rattle off shmall kine things like swimming - and I STILL trip out on those from Hawai'i dat cannot swim... WWD! - and riding a bicycle.
You could say I was either lucky or just happenstance dat all my friends and I really enjoyed all kine sports so we played watevah we could sign up for at da rec center like football, baseball, kickball, ping-pong - believe it or not, there were statewide competitions for dat - and I tink once there was a cooking thing. Eh, no tease. We wen score free grindz li'dat aftah we we was playing all day... plus, back in da day had more chicks register for dat kine class than guys. 
And then dat lead me to tink, wat keiki doesn't know how to cook rice? In fact, wat age do you start 'em? Wen did you start? And I know da only measuring line most people know is da first fold in their fingah.
Also gotta learn for tie shoes, make peanut buttah sandwich, fry one egg, wash laundry (no mix red in wit da whites 
), wash dishes, sew one button (shirt kine), count/save money, catch bus and of course, fix da slippah.
Wat else do you remembah learning/being taught to do at a young age? Wat should be a necessity for all keiki to learn/know by 12 besides texting? You even remembah dat far back? 
You know, now dat Da Baby is growing, I no like her not knowing.
Wassup Wit Dat!
August 3rd, 2012 at 8:19 am
BL,
Had to chime in on this one. Kids should learn:
1. Respect your elders.
2. Always be on time.
August 3rd, 2012 at 8:28 am
Agree with roach and add: compassion for others and animals.
August 3rd, 2012 at 9:08 am
Howzit BL!
Have guud kine manners, always say thank you and you welcome.
Happy FGF!
August 3rd, 2012 at 9:09 am
I learned to cook rice at age 9....on 'da stove. Had to watch 'em close otherwise burn! Pressure!
Dad taught us good manners. He even got the "Amy Vanderbilt book of Etiquette" out to make sure we learned right. I remember one of the first things he taught us boys; when a lady comes into the room, stand up and if she wants to sit, pull her chair out for her then push it back in when she sits.
August 3rd, 2012 at 11:01 am
Small kid time we neva have da kine computers and just started the game console revolution wit day atari and nintendo stuff but we still spent a lot of time outside playing sports, riding our bikes, hiking, fishing, swimming and going to the sweet shop or to the mall. During the summer we sometimes left home in the morning and didn't get back till dinner. I agree with roach small kid time we neva even tink of talking back to our parents or not doing what we was told to do odda wise get da belt or da stick. Learned to fold laundry, clean da bathroom, wash dishes among the odda "chores" we did. Nowadays kids don't even know what "chores" are.
August 3rd, 2012 at 11:26 am
Well, lets see, we made our own toys, like caterpillar from empty wooden spools, with old inner tube, wax/candle, and a chopstick. The edge of the spool were notched. Made our canoe from old totan roof (corrugated iron) which were pounded out smooth. Even had outriggers using hou tree branches because they were light. Lots of tar, which was used to caulk the metal and wood joints and keep water from seeping in. Hiked a lot in the country to pick guavas to make jams and jellies. Of course bamboo and inner tube, plus fence wire for making spear fishing gear. Many stuff like tako glass bottom box. Caddied at Wailua golf course when it was oly 9 holes. Too many things to cover in this short space. Most important thing was leave other people's property alone, no touch. Always ask if you can use politely. Mahalo
August 3rd, 2012 at 12:02 pm
They should learn how to do basic chores around the house like raking the dead leaves and mangos that fall in the yard, taking out the trash at night.
August 3rd, 2012 at 12:48 pm
I need to train my son to wash and polish my truck.
August 3rd, 2012 at 3:34 pm
"M" for sure!
That's how I earned the privilege of having dad take me out to practice driving. Now days, my nephew wants to practice but the reply to earning it by even only washing my car is "no way!"
August 3rd, 2012 at 3:50 pm
main ting...be respectful. please, thank you,aloha...goes a long way.
August 3rd, 2012 at 3:51 pm
Kids should know how to tell time. On a clock with hands, not the digital kind. I was totally floored when shopping at a store and a tween-age boy asked me what time it was. I held out my arm so he could see my watch. He stared at it and then confessed that he could not tell time on "that kind of watch". Then he said he had to meet him Mom at 2:00 so I told him he had ten minutes. He said thanks and ran off to meet him Mom.
August 3rd, 2012 at 6:01 pm
MrK isn't the type of person to criticize the current generation. Sure, the current generation does not know how to do some of the things we had to do; however, there are a TON of things that kids today are MUCH better than we were.
Also, there are many things that our parents' and grandparents' generation could do that many people my age (I'm in my mid 40's) hardly had to do. I give you one example - my grandmother was born in 1914. She could break down a 100-lb Ahi in no time. She could take a live chicken, kill it, remove the feathers, gut it, and break it down into pieces in a flash. She could cook almost anything from scratch. She could sew one dress, pants, shirt, almost anything, with a sewing machine, or BY HAND! Standing 5feet and weighing 120lbs, she could carry a 100-lb sack of rice easily. She once picked up a 135-lb barbell off of my chest after I failed my last bench press rep (She was 78 years of age when she did that). She could make beautiful Hawaiian Quilts. She could handle a root canal, or have her teeth pulled, without any anesthesia. Even when in her mid 70's, she could drive jeeps and trucks with manual transmission.
You tell me how many wahines you know, under 50-years of age who can do all of that.
August 4th, 2012 at 6:50 pm
Bruddah gotta teach your baby early to put away her toys. Start em young and move to bigger things from there.
I agree having respect and being courteous is very important. Teach them to say "Please" and "Thank You"
August 5th, 2012 at 12:20 pm
'Memory lane' still there... wow!
We were brought up at the edge of a forest in the mainland long before hand-held electronic games were invented. We ran around the house, rode bicycles all over the yard & down the dirt road in front of the house (sshhh no tell my dad, lol!), played badminton, baseball, football, basketball, tetherball, croquet, marbles, etc. We took care of fishes, cats, and dogs. We had a sandy driveway, so we played with our tonka trucks & front-loaders. We loved our ABC blocks, tinker toys, & leggos. We made 'forts' out of the dining room chairs & towels, colored in our coloring books with crayons & colored pencils, and painted with our water colors to make pictures for mom.
We played with our stuffed animals, made paper mache figures, made lots of crafts stuff using pipe cleaners, wooden toothpicks, wooden clothespins, wooden spools, & glue. We worked on science projects for school using poster board, glue & cotton (types of clouds!), and played cross-word puzzles, board, & card games. My dad taught us how to play chess, & took us two on hikes around the area where we discovered rocks & critters. We played in the swamp, jumping over artesian well creeks & dodging bogs. We made more forts using fallen branches & pine straw for roofs. I got a little instamatic camera for my birthday one year & loved taking pictures of my world. My dad got us a little swimming pool & we had a blast with that, too. Got to mention all the vacations my parents took us on for furthering our education - not just laying around. Also, we went to church & Sunday school for an education I can take with me forever.
Man... looking back, we had so much to do! Sometimes I really feel sorry for the kids nowadays that have their eyes peeled to their little electronic gadgets.
Stuff we learned - sometimes the 'hard way.'
Yes ma'am, no ma'am - yes sir, no sir, along with "please & thank you." In other words, be polite.
Table manners - like talking with mouth full and not chewing with mouth full of food so everyone else gets 'see food' ...
No talk back to your parents & elders and get away with it no matter how 'cute' other people think it is.
How to make cinnamon toast when mom slept in.
How to tie shoes - even if you think you'll never wear them.
How to dress yourself, brush your hair & brush your teeth.
How to tell time with a 'real' clock.
How to save $ - every penny counts. My parents opened up a savings account for each of us so we had a place to put our small allowance & birthday money. Teaching us how to save early on really made a big difference in my life later on.
Sewing buttons & making pictures with embroidery thread on cloth (fun & creative!)
Clean up your room!! (I rather failed at that, unlike my brother.)
Organization skills made fun by using shoeboxes with colored labels for association.
How to count to 100, add & subtract simple numbers without a calculator which didn't exist when i was a little kid, either.
Things I wish I'd learned early on:
–Be kind to animals - not just those that bark & meow.
–Be kind & respectful to the 'aina - It was put here for us to care for, not abuse & exploit.
–Don't smoke or drink - even if you see kids (and adults) doing it - for a myriad of reasons.