SEPTEMBER IDIOMS: “Put on your thinking cap” on Day 268 of 365 Days of Literacy for Kids

Here on 365 Days of Literacy for Kids, your kids will be “dressed” with IDIOMS during the month of September.

IDIOMS are phrases that reveal “secrets” from the past. IDIOMS come from many sources, many languages, many authors, many cultures.  The “hidden” meanings in IDIOMS are great fun for kids, but also teach important, interesting and intriguing lessons in how language has developed and evolved over time.

Each SEPTEMBER IDIOM on 365 Days of Literacy for Kids will address something to do with clothing… such as teaching kids the meaning of the put on your thinking cap idiom.

The idiom put your thinking cap on means to think about something, attempt to solve a problem, take careful consideration, figure something out.

- Origin of put on your thinking cap Idiom:  Put on your thinking cap comes from the term considering cap from as far back as the 17th century.  Did such caps really exist?  Not likely.  But the term is visual enough to catch the attention of kids.

Whenever kids (or even adults) are having a difficult time solving a problem or figuring something out, a way to focus is to put on your thinking cap… figuratively!

Sometimes an expressive idiom such as this one communicates exactly what a child needs to do.

Dress your kids for back-to-school success with knowledge and attention to put on your thinking cap.

Take a few minutes each day in SEPTEMBER to teach the secrets of IDIOMS to your kids & grandkids.  Understanding IDIOMS is a wonderful way to enrich reading and language development.

And I’m not just talking through my hat!