This afternoon as father and son bicycling on our way to the center of town, I decided that it would be a perfect opportunity to start teaching Maarten to speak better English.

Since Maarten was also in a better mood (we were going to visit toy stores to see what he wanted for his upcoming birthday), he accepted this unilateral agreement of mine without the slightest hesitation. Good boy.

We (I mean I) decided that starting today I would teach him a few new English words each and every day until his vocabulary had become so nearly infinite that he could speak the English language fluently. Dream away young father.

As we slowly but surely approached our destination, I fixed my attention on a number of objects that we passed, and even thought up one adjective. These are the four words I taught him today:

• Bridge
• Tree
• Crooked
• Road

Unfortunately, Maarten like many Dutch folks struggling with new languages, has problems pronouncing the "R" sound, which comes out more like a "W" sound.

Bwidge, Twee, Cwooked, Wode....

But he is doing his best which is good enough for me. The other three kids always refused to learn English, so I felt honored that now I had deserved my first and final chance.

I wonder how long we can keep this study plan going and when Maarten's English will become so perfect that they think he was born and raised in sunny California.