My husband is a vocabularist. I don't even think that's a word, but that is what he is. He loves to use odd, old, funky, unusual words and phrases. I have a notebook on my nightstand to write down the vocabulary he uses, because I love to look back and have a good chuckle. His interjections are the best. When he hits his thumb with a hammer, he says "Sweet Mother McCready!" If something is surprising, he will say "Sweet Land o' Goshen!" He calls our children 'vermin' in a very loving way. Some days they are 'miscreants' or 'ne're-do-wells'. Luckily, our kids know their dad well, and also enjoy his vocabularist status. Once, after reading a book on the importance of teaching kids vocabulary, I decided to shake things up a bit around the house. Instead of hollering, "Time for PJ's!", I changed it to "The hour has arrived to don your nocturnal attire!" My children said, "What?", and then got their PJ's on. This continued for months, and always brought a smile. We encourage them to be creative in their descriptive word choice, and we discuss words that fit any situation best. Building vocabulary is not just a subject reserved for school. My oldest daughter wrote a paper for her college English class. She used the word 'plethora' and her professor made a big deal of it in front of the class. A fine example of excellent vocabulary choice in writing, he said. She was surprised, and responded with "Sweet land o' Goshen! Thanks!"
Bailey Jorgensen
9/30/2012 10:51:23 am
Hahahaha :) vocabulary is great!
Molly Hendrickson
9/30/2012 10:53:24 am
What a great story! Implementing vocabulary in the home is an underrated furthering of a child's education. Comments are closed.
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AuthorWriting for children is a passion - along with reading kid's books, writing plays for kids, and teaching kids how to write! Archives
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