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? translucent is a simple way of saying all of the 14 words (above) that define it!  translucent derives from the Latin translucere, meaning to shine through.  Have fun with your children finding things that are translucent… etched glass, stained glass, frosted glass, wax paper, colored liquids, plastic, thin tissue paper, jelly shoes, gems and even Jello.  Shower curtains and drinking cups can be translucent. Keep 3 things in mind when discovering translucent:  a) translucent is something you can partly see through;  b) transparent is something you can completely see through;  c)  opaque is something you cannot see through. Make the word translucent as fun as finding translucent things.  translucent. Encourage your children to use translucent in both speaking and writing.

Although not as commonly used, translucent also means thoroughly illuminated or luminous.  We bumped into this meaning of translucent in the poem Window on Day 28 of 365 Days of Literacy for Kids:

And when I looked out at dawn once again, an apple tree laden with
fruit stood there.

Many years had probably gone by but I remember nothing of what
happened in my sleep.

——–

Use both meanings of translucent, the one with the long definition and the one meaning luminous.  Find something translucent in your lives every day to keep the word translucent shining through.

2.  treasured –  highly valued, prized, cherished;  held as sacred. What to love about this word? treasured derives from the word treasure… money, riches, wealth, prized possessions, giving the word treasured mighty fine value.  treasured gives something the highest regard.  When using the adjective treasured, use it to define or describe something truly prized.  Think treasure.

Explain to your children that many things can be treasured, including friends. This is how we bumped into treasured in the poem I Cry on Day 27 of 365 Days of Literacy for Kids:

I Cry by Tupak Shakur

Sometimes when I’m alone
I Cry,
Cause I am on my own.
The tears I cry are bitter and warm.
They flow with life but take no form
I Cry because my heart is torn.
I find it difficult to carry on.
If I had an ear to confide in,
I would cry among my treasured friend,
but who do you know that stops that long,
to help another carry on.
The world moves fast and it would rather pass by.
Then to stop and see what makes one cry,
so painful and sad.
And sometimes…
I Cry
and no one cares about why.

——–

In I Cry, the word treasured is given even more meaning by poet Tupak Shakur because the friend who is so highly cherished and prized does not take the time to return those treasured feelings.  This choice of one adjective gives such deeper meaning to the poem and deeper sadness to the voice of the poem.  One word can make this great a difference.  treasured. Use it with your children.  Use it to mean something.

translucent.  treasured. 2 words used by poets to perfectly describe something.  Encourage your children to use the 40 adjectives they now have in their own treasure-troves to make their writing and their speaking so much more luminous and  prized!  Remember that LITERACY is all about WORDS – Written, Spoken, Felt.