What makes a kid smart?

Dh and I were at his parents' yesterday for Father's Day, and around all of the nephews. (That's right - no nieces - ours are the only girls!) Anyway, my youngest nephew, who turns three next month, was impressing us all with his reading/number and letter recognition and memory skills. No doubt, the boy's got brains.

I can't deny, it does make us a tad jealous that our daughter is not at the same level, and makes us doubt whether she's in the right place for pre-school. But then, we realize... our daughter is smart, just not in the same way. I mean, who said smart has to mean book-smart anyway?

(Here's the part where I brag unabashedly...) Big Sis knows just about every animal, reptile, insect, amphibian, etc. and can tell you almost anything about them. Her favorite books are a Nature encyclopedia and the Audobon Society's book of wildlife. She draws pictures and colors/paints like none other her age (ahem, or mine, for that matter). She makes up amazing bedtime stories with her crazy imagination, and she can match any pitch perfectly when prompted.

My kid's smart.

No, she can't read, and she hasn't mastered writing. She can't speak Spanish or name all fifty states.

But she is an artist, an entymologist, a vocalist, and an author in her own right.

I've seen parents fight over whose child is the brightest, and I don't quite understand why. There are so many different types of brilliance among our children. Yes, for some, it will be reading/writing/arithmetic. For others, it will be science. For some it will be music, dance, or maybe sports. These different types of smart shape the adults our children will become... just as they shaped us.

And that's a brilliant thing.