Day 49: 365 Days of Literacy for Kids – Fun, Easy & Completely Do-able

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 take with them wherever they go.  Use these 56 Adjectives with your children.  Invite these 56 Adjectives for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Bring them along in the car.  Drop them off at school with your children.  Have fun with them.

Wouldn’t it be interesting to rebel against ILLITERACY and give each child the great opportunity to read, speak, write?  Let’s begin Day 49 of 365 Days of Literacy for Kids with 2 more adjectives:

1.  rebellious –  defying authority;  resisting control;  participating in or inclined toward a rebellion. What to love about this word? rebellious is one of those words that can be interpreted as either negative or positive.    rebellious can refer to behavior and actions that are willfully unruly, insubordinate,  unlawful. But rebellious can also refer to willful behavior and actions that are resistant to dictatorial, authoritarian rule.  the word rebellious must be watched and used very carefully.  Discuss rebellious with your children in terms of rules, laws, behavior and when those rules, laws and behaviors become necessary to be changed… sometimes by rebellious force.  I mentioned ILLITERACY above.  Explain to your children that in some places in our world, children/adults are kept from learning to read, write, voice their opinions/feelings.  This authority has led people to rebellious actions.  This is how important LITERACY is… when it is denied.  Of course, then we have rebellious when a child refuses such things as going to bed. Discuss these little rebellious actions, too.

We have already bumped into the word rebel… in the poem Outwitted, on Day 31 of 365 Days of Literacy for Kidsrebellious derives from rebel, meaning  one who expresses strong unwillingness to established order:

OUTWITTED by Edwin Markham

He drew a circle that shut me out—
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle that took him in!

rebellious.  Explain carefully.  Use with care.  rebellious is a strong word, an important word, a strong concept, an important concept.  Enriching your children with the word rebellious will keep lots of doors open to lots of dialogue.  Words are this powerful.

2.  red –  any of a group of colors whose hue resembles that of blood. What to love about this word? red seems so easyred seems so recognizable.  Why are we talking about red as an awesome adjective, anyway?  Because red is applied to a wide, varied range of colors that are categorized as red, but whose hues are much more precise.  Get all that!?  Simply put, discuss the word red with your children… but give them the gifts of red in all of its glory.   Look around you.  Identify red things.  Now look more closely.  Do you see more descriptive redbrick red, cherry red, rose red, light red, dark red.  Do you see maroon, crimson, ruby, burgundy, scarlet.  Grab yourself a color chart and show your children just how precise, interesting and descriptive they can be with red in their writing and speaking.  The first time one of their teachers bumps into ruby, crimson or brick red in a writing assignment… well, that will be a red-letter day!

We bumped into the adjective red on Day 1 of 365 Days of Literacy for Kids in the poem The Red Wheelbarrow:

The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens

In this case, the word red must be red.  The word red is simply powerful in the description of the wheelbarrow… and in the meaning it has for the voice of the poem.

Use red with your children.  Play with red.  Have fun with red and all of its friends.

rebellious.  red.  Powerful, intense, meaningful words.  Use rebellious and red to begin conversations with your children.  These words are layered, deep, magnificent.  Encourage your children to remember rebellious and red (and all of its hues) in their writing and in their speaking.  Remember that LITERACY is all about WORDS – Written, Spoken, Felt.

About Audrey

Audrey McClelland has been a digital influencer since 2005. She’s a mom of 5 and shares tips on her three favorite things: parenting, fashion and beauty. She’s also a Contemporary Romance Author.

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1 Comments

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