Little words can sometimes pack a powerful punch.  Little words can have interestingly BIG meanings.  Children love little words that they can pronounce, carry around with them and use. Take adjectives wily and wry, for examples: 1.  wily -  cunning, sly, artful, crafty. What to love about this word? wily is a great word to describe someone who is willfully [...]

Some words come with with lots of synonyms (words of identical or similar meaning).  These words are particularly interesting to children because it’s like these words travel with a bunch of friends. Words with synonym friends are sometimes easier to remember… because of all its friends! Take valiant and venomous, for examples.  These words travel with an entourage of synonyms.  [...]

The quote WORDS ARE THE VOICE OF THE HEART is attributed to Confucius.  He knew what he was talking about. To give your children their voices of the heart, you must first give them words. Children love words.  Children love the way words settle into them.  They love what words mean.  They love to know how to use words.  It [...]

We’re coming up to 40 words in our quest for 56 Adjectives.  40! Both of today’s 2 adjectives are words we’ve bumped into in poems we’ve read, Window by Czeslaw Milosz and I Cry by Tupak Shakur: 1.  translucent -  allowing the passage of light, but diffusing it enough to make images become blurred. What to love about this word? [...]

Shhhh. Listen deeply.  Listen earnestly. Sometimes words that define the strongest emotions are quiet words.  Children love to hear quiet words said quietly. Whisper silent.  Whisper solemn.  Allow the s’s to carry the entire word.  Ask your children to whisper silent.  Whisper solemn. Set the mood, the tone, the spirit and the sound for our next 2 Adjectives: 1.  silent [...]

Adjectives give our language richness and life.  Adjectives create description that makes our reading, speaking and writing come alive.  Children love to see our eyes wide and our minds working as they describe something to us in writing or in speech.  Give your children the great gift of words… words, words, and more words.  Give your children 56 Adjectives to [...]

Encouraging children to become comfortable with words, especially new words, is all about repetition.  Explaining a word’s definition is a great start, but using words is what makes them sink in.  Every day.  Just as a quotidian morning meal is essential to your children’s health and sustained energy, so too is the quotidian use of interesting words/language in the presence [...]

I may be run out of town for suggesting what I’m about to suggest, but as a retired English/Reading teacher, Mom of 4 and Grandma to 9, sometimes kids like words just because they sound awesome… even words that they may never, ever use… and this is OK! Did I just write that? It’s true.  So today, I’m suggesting 2 [...]

Oh, boy!  What would a list of 56 Adjectives be without a couple of WORDS that begin with the letter O?  Well, to begin with, kind of ordinary.  So… let’s get to it: 1.  obstinate -  difficult to manage or subdue; unwilling to listen or yield. What to love about this word? obstinate has lots of wonderful synonym friends (stubborn, [...]

In our search for 56 Adjectives in 28 Days, (awesome Adjectives, by the way) today we’re coming up to numbers 27 and 28. Today, your children will have 28 incredibly descriptive words to walk around with, speak with, write with, have fun with. Let’s take a couple of seconds to marvel at the adjectives we’ve already met.  These words are [...]