Early SAT Prep 1: Vocabulary

One comment I hear again and again when I tutor is, "I've never seen any of these words before.  How come I have to know them?"  Students often feel that having a strong working vocabulary is unimportant because they can just look up any unfamiliar word as they come across it.  What they fail to realize is that the SAT tests the level vocabulary they should be writing and speaking with, not just reading.  The difference between a sophisticated paper and one that lacks style lies partly in the words chosen to express the ideas.

So how can you help your child build this kind of working vocabulary?  Well, you could get flashcards...

Just kidding!

Here are some easy ideas:

1.  Read books that use sophisticated vocabulary.
I find that older books tend to include many more words than newer children's books.  Compare Andrew Lang's fairy tales with Disney versions, for example.  Or even one of the original Curious George books with the new stories based on the PBS show.  When in doubt turn to the classics.  Roald Dahl's books also pack a verbal punch.  (If you know of other vocabulary-rich children's books, please leave a comment!)

2.  Discuss unfamiliar words.
When you come to a word your child may not know, stop and ask him about it.  Explain what it means.  If you don't know it, you can find plenty of free dictionary apps for your smartphone to help you out.  Try to use the word again later when discussing the book or having a conversation.

3.  Encourage descriptive writing.
If your daughter is writing a thank you note, postcard, or story, encourage her to use stronger descriptive words.  Can she change "We saw some big mountains" to "We saw some gigantic mountains"? 

4.  Talk like a grown-up.
Children absorb what they hear.  Anyone who's ever accidentally let an expletive fly knows that!  Use this to your advantage by using sophisticated words yourself.  If your child doesn't understand a word, you can always explain it.  If your own vocabulary is weak, go ahead and sign up for a word-of-the-day e-mail program. 

I hope these ideas inspire you!  Maybe someday your child will put his arm around you and say, "Mom, thanks for all you did to help me succeed on the SAT and get accepted into my top choice college!" 

Or maybe not.  But we can hope, can't we?

Snails: Part 2

 Snail mania has not yet subsided at my house.  Crazy Bug's fabulous kindergarten teacher encourages kids to bring in things they've written at home and share them with the class, so Caitlyn published a book about her snails.  I let her type it up, because she had a lot to say and her hand still gets too tired for lengthy writing projects.  I sat with her to help her organize her thoughts and use complete sentences.  For example:

 Me: "What did we do first?"
CB: "Find snails"
Me:  "How could you say that?  We..."
CB: "We found snails."
Me:  "Good, where?"
CB: "We found snails in the bushes."


I found another great advantage of typing: spellcheck!  My daughter is a perfectionist and HATES to be corrected when she writes.  But it's extremely painful for me to watch her hand her book to someone after all her hard work and hear them say, "What does it say?"  With spellcheck, I didn't have to say a thing.  Incorrect words were obvious with the handy red line.  Crazy Bug is at the point where she recognized the correct way to spell a word when she sees it, but can't always remember how to spell it on her own.  So after she wrote the book, I showed her how to use the spellcheck to find the correct spelling.  Every time she was able to pick out the right word from the list of suggestions.  I could practically see her thinking, "Oh, yeah, 'right' has a 'gh'."  Golden!

I also took some pictures and added them to the pages for her, so it looked really professional.  Here's the final result:

Snail Crazy

Crazy Bug's class started studying snails this week.  I decided to build on her excitement and extend the learning by helping her catch snails at home.  Bad idea.  The kid has gone absolutely snail crazy.  They're all she can think and talk about.  We have to "play with" the slimy things five times a day.  (And how can you play with a snail?)  We've written snail poems, sang snail songs, and made snail homes.  Enough already!

But, on the other hand, we've learned some interesting things:

Our yard is practically infested with snails.  I never knew how many lived around us.  What else have we been missing?

Snails are both male and female.  Any two snails can make crazy snail babies. 

Snails' eyes are on their tentacles.

Cool stuff.  If you'd like to start your own snail study, it's pretty easy.  Get a glass or plastic container and add some leaves and sticks.  Cover the top with an old nylon held by a rubber band.  Go out on a wet day and look underneath the leaves of low-growing plants.  (This often involves turning halfway upside down to look up at the underneath sides of plants).  Pull the snails gently by their shells until they release their grip on the plants.  Make sure that you mist the snails and their home regularly with dechlorinated water so they stay moist.

If you're having trouble finding snails, another option is to make an outdoor snail house.   Simply turn a clay flowerpot upside down and prop one edge with a stone or saucer.  Put some veggies peelings inside and wait until nighttime.  Then lift up the pot and grab the little buggers.

If your kids fall totally in love with the snails, try writing an acrostic poem about snails.  Write the word "snail" down the left-hand side of the paper in capital letters.  Then think of something about snails for each letter.  Here is my daughter's:

Happy snail hunting!