Little geeks in the making
I have implemented a daily ritual since beginning homeschooling with the kids and that's our "word of the day". Every day I either think up, or look up a word that the kids wouldn't necessarily learn through day to day life. Some of the words are useful and some are less so. Some are hard to pronounce and they aren't likely to remember them, even though I try and find ways to use the word throughout the day. I'm just trying to give them some idea of how immense the English language is. How you could study a new word everyday and still not learn them all.
I was wondering yesterday if it was a silly thing for me to be doing, but then I overheard Sofia say to Isobel's lullaby Glow Worm toy, "You're just a somniferous little bed time toy, aren't you little guy?" and she had him respond in her best Glow Worm voice (which is similar to a Gremlin's) "I sure am!!"
Well I'll be.
It's not that my preschooler is using the word "somniferous" in a sentence. It's the pure shock of learning that once in a while my kids actually listen to me.
Prodigious, isn't it?
I was wondering yesterday if it was a silly thing for me to be doing, but then I overheard Sofia say to Isobel's lullaby Glow Worm toy, "You're just a somniferous little bed time toy, aren't you little guy?" and she had him respond in her best Glow Worm voice (which is similar to a Gremlin's) "I sure am!!"
Well I'll be.
It's not that my preschooler is using the word "somniferous" in a sentence. It's the pure shock of learning that once in a while my kids actually listen to me.
Prodigious, isn't it?
posted by Kristen @ 7:56 PM
6 Comments:
At 8:14 PM,
Anonymous said…
This is also how they pick up words you don't want them to remember, but they do anyway! :P
At 11:40 PM,
Anonymous said…
How sweet...and it is good vocabulary practice. My kids love big words for some reason. They lap them up.
At 8:00 AM,
Anonymous said…
I think they might have some genetic predisposition on both sides to being vocab geeks -- so the combined nature/nurture equation here could lead to some pretty wonderful Scrabble players... -- Ernesto
At 4:49 PM,
Anonymous said…
Great, now I won't be able to beat them at scrabble either.
At 5:27 PM,
Anonymous said…
I love this idea! If I steal it, do you think my children will start listening to me too?
At 8:18 PM,
Kristen said…
Michelle- Luckily they haven't picked up any words yet that I would be horrified for them to say to someone outside the family!
Dana- I think it's good practice too, though as Ernesto pointed out to me the other day, the very best way to learn words is to just read all the time. The kids are already big lovers of books so I don't think that will ever be an issue...
Ernesto- Yes, you have a great vocabulary and while I don't, I can spell a little better than you.
Annette- I bet you could still beat Isobel, though, at least for another couple of years! ;>
Ella- By all means, use the idea. I stole it from someone else, so it's only fair. I cannot guarantee your kids will listen to you but miracles could happen!
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