Getting kids to expand their personal word stashes doesn’t have to be tedious.  It really can be wildly fun.  Take my 5-year old grandson, Alex, for example.  A couple of days ago, I was messing around with 2 words while driving with him in my car.  The words:  elfin and enormous.

I was thinking that giving him words that are almost virtual opposites would heighten his understanding of each word.  I began with elfin.  I love this word.  It’s not commonly used today, but I still love this word.  I said to Alex, “Do you know what an elf is?”

Alex thought for a moment.  I could see the wheels turning in his head as I glanced in the rear-view mirror.   He answered, “An elf is like a fairy.” Then he added, “But Grandma, fairies are not real.”

I said, “How do you know fairies are not real?”

“William told me,” he said.  William is Alex’s older and wiser 6-year old brother.

“Ah,” I said, “but what about elves?  Are they real?” I asked.

Alex thought for another moment.  “I’ll have to ask William,” he said.  Another moment passed and Alex said, “But there are fairies on Webkinz, you know.  They have magic wands and they bring music.  Do you think there are ‘elfs’ on Webkinz, Grandma?”

I knew I had him!  “Well, that depends upon what elves are,” I said.

Then the words came pouring out of Alex.  “I think ‘elfs’ are fairies.  With wings and magic wands.  They live in forests.  And maybe on Webkinz.  And they are small, so they can hide,” he said. ” ‘Elfs’ are fairies.  Little small fairies.”

Our conversation continued, and I told Alex about the word elfin.  He liked the word.  Then we talked about the word enormous.  He liked that word, too.  We talked about enormous things, like the tree in his back yard, the Big Blue Bug on Rt. 95, the Incredible Hulk, the cruise ship he traveled on last summer…

… and we had the most magnificently fun time talking about words.

words

Today’s 2 Adjectives are elfin and enormous. I hope you have as much fun with them as I did:

1.  elfin – small; fairy-like; filled with mischievous charm. What to love about this word? elfin sounds tiny and magical.  It is an easy word to remember.  It radiates description!  Introduce your children to elfin.  Use it to describe puppies, kittens, small animals, little brothers and sisters who are innocently mischievous.  Use the word in magical, made-up bedtime stories… or in the creation of fictional characters in writing assignments.  Create elfin charms, elfin music, elfin powers.  Use your imaginations when bringing this old word new life.  elfin.

2.  enormous –  of very great size; immense; deviating from the ordinary in size, number or degree. What to love about this word? enormous derives from the word enorm, meaning to make monstrous.  enormous is so much more descriptive than big, large, huge, heavy.  enormous sounds immense.  Say the word aloud with your children… e-NOR-mous.  You can feel the word.  Find things around you that are e-NOR-mous.  Houses, lakes, trucks, chocolate chip cookies, cheeseburgers, trees, bugs, cartoon characters, boats.  We also bumped into the word enormous in the poem Brotherhood, on Day 26 of 365 Days of Literacy for Kids, where the night is enormous:

I am a man: little do I last
and the night is enormous.

Use the word enormous.  Feel the word.  Encourage your children to use enormous in their speaking and writing.  It’s better than big!  enormous.

elfin. enormous. opposites.

Remember that LITERACY is all about WORDS – Written, Spoken, Felt. Remember, too, that helping to build an enormous vocabulary is one of the greatest gifts to give to any child.

And, oh…  when I dropped off Alex back at his home, his Dad came to the door carrying 2-year old Henry over his shoulder, holding him by his feet.  Henry was screeching with delight.  Alex looked at them, smiled, and said, “Grandma!  Daddy is enormous and Henry is elfin!” Now that’s what I call enormous fun and enormous learning!