Just 'cause.... and Illiterate Literacy

Word of the Week:

'cause - This word, along with a shoulder shrug, is the reason /explanation for everything that happens around here.


Recently, Aidan saw his name written in all capital letters. Not used to seeing this, he said (sounding like a future rapper), "This looks like my name, but my name has a A to the I to the D to the A to the N". Too funny.

I've noticed, lately, a lot of nouns used as verbs. Has it always been this way, or is it on the increase?
For example, "We roommated in college.", and "I.M. me later". How would an English teacher break down these sentences?!
And while I'm on the subject.... Oh, the downfall of the written word! I was reading a Scholastic book to the kids recently, and one of the words in it was "sorta"! As in "I sorta want to go". Who proofreads these before they're published?! Are they hiring?
Another book used the wrong word entirely. The sentence was something like this - "As he past the goal line..." It should be "passed".
Another problem - should of, could of, would of used instead of should have, could have, would have.
Another problem - Books, especially children's books with incomplete sentences.

Please don't point out all my mistakes in my blog. I know I'm not perfect, but I expect companies who are in the business of publishing books to have them properly proofread before publishing them for millions of people to read.

Dip It In A Liquid

Thought for the day concerning young children....

They will eat almost anything if they can dip it
in ketchup, ranch dressing, or chocolate syrup.


Just name a food and pick a dip!

Modern Day Shopping for the Fam

After heading out to do all my Christmas shopping for my family in one day, I realized I'd left all their wish lists at home. Not to worry. I got a pen and paper out of my purse, and jotted down what I could remember from their lists. And, strangely, very few vowels were needed.

To the best of my recollection, this is a compilation of their wish lists:

MP3, DVD, LCD, HDTV, HP, Wii,

GAP, 18K, IPOD, 360, DS, NFL,

AE, GMC, BMW, CD, NBA, GPS,

VCR, 7UP, R2D2, C3P0,

ACT, SAT, FEMA, IRS, FBI, CIA, NASA

They got $.

And not much of it.

Day Care Christmas

We had a short and sweet day care Christmas party. They each took a bite of their treats I'd spent hours laboring over, and a sip from their holiday punch I'd specially prepared ( Ok, it was just Lil Debbie snack cakes and juice pouches...), and they ripped open the present I'd gotten each of them. Party over.

I'd gotten Carter and Aiden walkie talkie sets (I even remembered to get batteries!). After they opened their presents. I began showing them how the walkie talkies work. I let loose my entire repertoire of CB language. It went something like this - " 10-4 Good buddy. This here's Rubber Ducky. I'm headin' into Chi-Town, where there's Smokies as thick as bugs on a bumper. They even have a bear in the air. We'll crash the gate doin' 98. Let those truckers roll! Negatory, Pig Pen. Catch ya on the flip flop. 10-4, roger, over and out." (Ok, so my CB language repertoire is all from the 70s song Convoy.)

After all that recitation, the only thing the kids picked up on was..... roger. They began screaming into the walkie talkies, "Can you hear me, Roger? Roger, can you hear me?"

I think they'll have fun with them, especially when they finally realize the walkie talkie doesn't need be smashed into their mouths in order for them to talk into it. And if they'll talk into it, not shout. Everything came out sounding like, "mmsh aaaggg cccurrzzz gglliissskkll, rroggggerrr?"

The girls enjoyed their Barbies. No explanation needed.

Back to pre-Christmas......

B.C. (before Christmas), I loaded up the day care kids, and ran a few errands. Included in those errands was a trip to the dollar store. As we were walking slowly down the toy aisle, I heard the kids begin an excited chant of "I want that! I want that! I want that".
By the time we were nearing the end of the toys, it had become a quiet, rhythmic monotone murmur of "I want that......I want that......I want that....." In fact, it was so flat and devoid of emotion, it reminded me of the scenes in Finding Nemo where the seagulls have the same repetitive murmur of "Mine, mine, mine, mine" - As if repeating it so much made it meaningless.

Just one of those funny, had-to-be-there moments.

Go Fish, Bingo, Man Caves, and Minimalism

One of our best "problem solving techniques" is using name sticks. In a cup/jar/pencil holder, I keep wooden craft (popsicle) sticks with each child's name written on one. Anytime there's a dispute over who gets the pink cup, who gets to play with a toy first, or if we need to choose a child to do a fun job - we draw a name stick. It's a simple solve.

Each morning at day care one of the kids (whose name stick was drawn) draws a slip of paper from the "treasure box". Then we do the activity listed on it. Today, Aidan drew a slip of paper that read Play Go Fish. We tried really, really hard to play..... It was just so confusing! As soon as a child's turn was over, he/she lost interest in the game. Then when I told them it was their turn again, they hadn't been paying attention so had no idea what to do. And by that time, they'd picked up their matched pairs and mixed them up with the cards in their hands, and/or given some of the matches away to whoever asked. Then the "asking" person would tell the "asked" person to Go Fish, instead of the other way around. So I would have to explain, amid mildly upset children, that they couldn't fish from the "pond", and that they had to tell they other person to Go Fish. Confusing, huh?

I'm almost scared of what the other slips of paper in the box have written on them! Might have to make one reading "Take morning naps", but I'm afraid that won't go over well.

We've been busy playing Electronic Talking Dora Bingo - This works much better than, say Go Fish. It teaches animals and colors, and requires only very short attention spans! We've also played some Christmas Bingo - A bit more complicated, but still fun - and there's candy involved in that!

Singing and dancing to kids songs and Christmas songs is always fun, and great exercise when we're stuck indoors during cold winter weather. This week the kids played with lots of different toys, read and listened to lots of books, and colored lots of pictures (so many, in fact, that the blame for the deforestation of the Pacific Northwest is beginning to swing our way!). They had a large cardboard box to play with this week. The boys, especially, love hiding in these boxes. Ahh... Their first "man cave".
The girls, however, (in an extreme version of housecleaning) love stuffing every item from the play room that's not nailed down into the boxes - which leaves a nice, clean, minimalist look to the playroom. Unfortunately, there's nothing left to play with in the playroom.

We saw snow this week! They couldn't wait to get out in it. That lasted about 8 seconds. It was just too bitterly cold.

We've also been busy making a small gift for parents. Next week, parents will understand all the marker stains on their child's hands, arms, .... faces.

My husband watched the kids one morning while I went to the doctor. He was impressed with some of their wild dance moves! They read books, played, and even got to break a few rules!

Toddlerspeak

Words that may be new to you, unless you are around toddlers and preschoolers:

Jor - A rectangular-shaped wooden topless box which fits into your kitchen cabinets and holds such items as silverware and junk, i.e. "silverware jor" and "junk jor". Also known as a drawer.

Natdee - Used to negatively describe something, as in "I not eating dat. It natdee". Also known as nasty.

Turvee - Abbreviated word for television. Also known as tv.

Pooder - An object with lots of clacking buttons, a sliding clicker, and a big screen which adults
love to spend time with, while telling the kids they're not to touch them. Also known as
a computer.