Eclectic Parent

I can’t believe I forgot to mention one of the best big words of all: defenestrate. My friend Em gave me that one. Defenestrate: To throw out of a window. Specific, to the point, and makes the kids giggle. A lot of the words that are no longer actively used have specific meanings.  We now use phrases to convey the same intent. But there is an eloquence lost when several words have to be used and one would have done the job.

Not only are big and fun words everywhere, but once people know you are looking for them, they are happy to add to your list. We went swimming with friends today. C said he needed to go inside to urinate, which started the whole big words explanation. They decided to add masticate and expectorate.

And beyond words themselves, we’ve been having fun with language. Homonyms and antonyms are concepts we’ve explored for a while. We went around the table last week each contributing a different words to describe D’s birthday cake - yummy, tasty, delicious, scrumptious delectable.My favorite, though, was B rubbing her tummy and saying that was sign language for yummy. And there are always opportunities for explaining new concepts. After accusing Peacock of poison on the patio, I explained the idea of alliteration. Kids have been having fun with beginning rhyming, as C called it.