It turns out that some of my children are voracious readers and others are, um, not. A deep love for reading and hours spent immersed in literary works, not surprising, results in a rather expansive vocabulary.
It does not, however, guarantee perfect spelling.
But that’s thought for another post, and may be something the children have inherited from their mother. Ah em. As I was saying, it was recently rubbed in my face brought to my attention that there are a few among us who could use some help in expanding our personal vocabulary expression and understanding.
And really, is there anyone who can truly say their comprehension and use of the English language is as vast and complete as they would like?
Standardized test scores can be a sobering reality check when you are the teacher, and have been for the entirety of the children’s education. Every weakness or below average area of study seems a glaring reflection on your ability and diligence as the teacher.
Thankfully every year presents us with a fresh start and, until the children head off to college (or trade school or McDonald’s to flip burgers), we have the opportunity to strengthen and add to the building blocks (however small they may be) of our education.
All of which leads me to our Works for Me Wednesday idea:
WFMW: Wordly Wise 3000 Books
I purchased Wordly Wise 3000 books for Joshua, Rachel and Daniel. I also picked up the answer guides. Just in case my own vocabulary is a little rusty.
It doesn’t hurt to be careful.
I found the books at Christianbook.com (CBD) for a good price. Coupled with free shipping (use code 275405 for free shipping with $50 purchase), the books were a reasonable addition to our homeschool library. I also decided to buy Vocabulary Vine in order to begin some work on Greek and Latin roots. We haven’t cracked the cover on that one yet (it only arrived 3 days ago), but I’m sure it will help transform us into great scholars and ensure excellent SAT scores.
If you have any vocabulary curriculum you use or other tips, PLEASE pass them along.
We’ll deal with spelling some other time.
Stop by Rocks in My Dryer for more WFMW ideas.
Kathy
WHEW. Lots to teach. I will keep on praying for the teacher in your house!! I love you each. Aunt Kate
We just started using Wordly Wise 3000 this year and my daughter and I have absolutely fallen in love with it. She has even begun teaching her younger brother and sister so of her vocab words. I suppose it is better to have my 3 year old say I’m famished instead of I’m hungry.
Hi Kathy,
We have used this too. We also used the Wordsmith books and two of the kids liked those because they were fun and quirky. On my homepage with iGoogle I have a vocabulary word of the day and that’s been helpful…when I want the help.
The most helpful thing any teacher did in my growing up to teach vocabulary was to give us lists of the Greek and Latin roots, prefixes and suffixes. The lists can be found online too, and they make for easy reference. Knowing these makes medical and scientific lingo SO much easier to understand. Brigette, Abigail and Adam all have/had stapled, hole punched lists in the front of their notebooks for reference and use/d them often!
I LOVE reference because no matter how thorough the teaching, they are bound to forget a lot. Knowing how and what to look for is my aim cause I can’t remember it all either!!
Though I despised my teacher, I remember most of the Greek and Latin roots I learned in Vocabulary and Composition class mainly because we had word presentations every week. (Learning is always more fun when the other students get involved!) The presentation involved the etymology of the word and some kind of short demonstration of what the word means. (For prognostication, my partner and I did a mock up of a weather report. It’s amazing to think that was 15 years ago and I can still remember it!)
Another way I learned vocab was to learn it in the context of the books I was reading. This especially happened when I was reading books that were more difficult than I was “supposed” to be reading.
Good luck with the vocab, Kathy! Giving your children an understanding of vocabulary can only help them.
I found you via Rocks in My Dryer–
My kids are learning new vocabulary words from OPB– Just the other day my son(just turned 6) was,
fasinated by a meatball and he had devoured his french fries!
Then while in the bathtub he said his appitite was full !
{I notice that I have miss-spelled words– sorry– I like reading and words — but spelling…just isn’t my thing !)
anyway, maybe I will look into this book– Thanks for sharing!
Off to check those out. TFS
That’s the tough part of homeschooling–you can’t hold anyone else accountable for less-than-stellar results. But then, you can take full credit when the results are stellar too!