Surely, I noticed the erroneous error in this title, but spellcheck didn’t! I thought it was a clever intro to this heartwarming story direct from our classroom last week. I sat with one of our young writers reviewing her “About The Author” section from a book each child is creating. Her section was about two pages long telling the reader about everything from her siblings to her favorite color. You’ve got to love the honesty and depth of the fourth-grade mind. Near the end, I read her words almost too fast to catch:
“I will never forget the smell of my dad’s colon.” My brain read exactly her intent, but C-O-L-O-G-N-E is not intuitive spelling of this fragrant word. Children keep us laughing and laughter keeps us alive.
Inventive Spelling is the DELIGHT of every K-3rd Teacher, because it offers such a sweet, intimate “peek” into the child’s actual world-of-words! This week, I enjoyed at least four “Word Walls” in various elementary rooms at Cotswold School, Charlotte, NC. In an International Bacclaureate School of Excellence, our youngest ones KNOW that they are “prinsipulled” and that Mrs. Hearne is their Prinsipull! They all appreciate their Caffetorium, and they try hard to not be turdy on any given day. All in all, I believe that spelling IS rather impotent, but at least it keeps the eyedeahs coming…
Kids say and write the darnest things! Too funny and precious for words! Dottie