Wanting to Raise Kids with Good Vocabulary

[LAmom]

How do I do it? I have a very poor vocabulary IMO. Not at an adult level, and I have always loved reading, etc., but as a little kid, nose in book always, I was reading junk (think Sweet Valley High and Babysitters Club). My friends that have an excellent vocabulary said it was just reading, reading, reading--the good stuff. They picked it up that way. Is that it? I personally think it was also because their parents have a good vocabulary, too, using words I have never heard of!

 

Do I have my daughter look up every word she doesn't know? Does it just come naturally after years of good reading? :confused:

[MeanestMomInMidwest]

I would start by improving your own vocabulary. Incorporate higher-level words into your everyday language, and speak using these words. Your daughter will learn by example. I believe having a good vocabulary modeled is the very best way for children to learn. If the adults in their lives speak correctly and with an expanded vocabulary, children will come to think it is normal.

 

I would also suggest incorporating vocabulary into your daughter's spelling work, if you do spelling. Have your daughter look up the spelling words, use them in a sentence, and incorporate them into whatever paragraph writing you are having her do.

[Guest]

I only know how it has worked for my daughter, and it's definitely been from reading. She's picked up not only vocabulary -- I remember her using "emblazoned" at age six after hearing it in an audiobook -- but ideas and information from all the reading and listening.

 

She learns the meaning in context. She will sometimes ask what a word means and we look it up together. On the other hand, if I take words apart and try to help her learn roots, it never "takes." So that's just how she learns.

 

I suspect there are other kids who learn better through analysis of roots and parts of words and/or copying exact definitions, writing out sentences using the words, etc. But I wasn't one of them, and my daughter isn't either.

[LisaKinVA]

I would say that my kids, early on, developed a good vocabulary because I do. (It's kind of funny to listen to my 6yo talk about the variety of flowers he picked as specimens, and the words they use fluidly) But now, it's because I continue to expose them to higher vocabulary through lots of reading, but also vocabulary programs. I was an avid reader -- but there were so many words. The vocabulary programs I used exposed me to even more words.

 

As a high school student I used to tell people I didn't need to curse -- I had a high enough vocabulary to not only put them in their place, but give them a vocabulary lesson at the same time. And yes, my peers did test me... ONCE. :D

[DarlaS]

How do I do it? I have a very poor vocabulary IMO. Not at an adult level, and I have always loved reading, etc., but as a little kid, nose in book always, I was reading junk (think Sweet Valley High and Babysitters Club). My friends that have an excellent vocabulary said it was just reading, reading, reading--the good stuff. They picked it up that way. Is that it?

 

Yes, that's a big part of it.

 

 

I personally think it was also because their parents have a good vocabulary, too, using words I have never heard of!

It's that too.

 

Do I have my daughter look up every word she doesn't know? Does it just come naturally after years of good reading? :confused:

No, do not do this unless she wants to. She will pick it up from context or if reading aloud, you can explain (quickly, using synonyms if possible) as you go. She's 6. For now, read books above her level but not too far above. Read The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease for an idea of how and what to read to your kids at what ages. I highly recommend it. I wish I'd read it when my oldest was 6. Read it! Read it ASAP! (Please? :D)

 

For yourself, in addition to reading some better quality books, look into Building Vocabulary From Classical Roots. (I think it's recommended by Susan Wise Bauer in The Well Educated Mind, but I'm too lazy to go look at my copy.. :tongue_smilie:)

[LAmom]

I would start by improving your own vocabulary. Incorporate higher-level words into your everyday language, and speak using these words. Your daughter will learn by example. I believe having a good vocabulary modeled is the very best way for children to learn. If the adults in their lives speak correctly and with an expanded vocabulary, children will come to think it is normal.

 

That is what I was afraid of. I try a little. I could make a better effort. It seems kind of overwhelming. Also words I have tried to learn just don't stick. :glare:

[HappyGrace]

Read them high quality literature, and let them listen to same on CD.

 

An easy way to help you and your dc improve vocab would be for you to pick one word per day, learn it yourself in the morning, and throw it into conversation a few times that day, and as often after that as you can!

[LAmom]

But now, it's because I continue to expose them to higher vocabulary through lots of reading, but also vocabulary programs. I was an avid reader -- but there were so many words. The vocabulary programs I used exposed me to even more words.

:D

 

What are these vocabulary programs? For older kids? Maybe I could do them.

[LAmom]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! I will get my husband in on helping me. He has a much better vocabulary.

 

How come no one else has posted on how they feel my pain and have a bad vocabulary, too..... :001_smile:

[Amy Jo]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! I will get my husband in on helping me. He has a much better vocabulary.

 

How come no one else has posted on how they feel my pain and have a bad vocabulary, too..... :001_smile:

 

I feel your pain :) -- I'm working to improve my grammar as well as vocabulary. I've become lazy after spending so much time around small children. You've inspired me to re-subscribe to AWAD (a word a day). Thanks!

[FO4UR]

You might try a Latin/Greek root based vocab program for yourself. Honestly, my reading diet consisted of far too much Sweet Valley & Babysitters Club too:glare:...what has helped me the most is learning some Latin & Greek roots.

 

I try to incorporate the same into my dc's interests. Ex: we learned that seals are pinnipeds. pinni=fin and ped=foot. They are "fin-footed" animals. Now, ds picks up "ped" in other words and knows it means "foot." Pedestrian means a person on "foot," etc...etc... I just sneak those little lessons in whenever I can. Knowing it myself really helps.

 

Read aloud. www.amblesideonline.com is a great resource for reading lists. Year 0 is full of "must read" classics.

[Laura Corin]

I think that following one of the great lists that are available for your child's reading will result in a great vocabulary. You don't need to have them look up words unless they are puzzled - they should absorb the meanings from context.

 

Laura

[Tracy]

I think it does start with the parents. We make every effort not to "dumb down" our conversations with our children, and people are amazed at dd5's vocabulary.

 

One thing that we have done this year is incorporate vocabulary study into our reading. (We do this with our Five in a Row curriculum, but you can do this with any books.) When we read a book, we write down a few words out of it that dd does not know, (and sometimes I do have to look up the words for myself). We do not necessarily write down all words in a book we don't know, because that is often too many. I have found that 4-6 words are just about right. We put them up on a wall and try to use them throughout the week. When we read the book again, we review the vocabulary words and what they mean. DD5 will also recognize vocabulary words we have studied in other books we read, even some from months ago.

 

Now, because we are doing this with a program designed to re-read a single book several times, it has been very easy. But you could easily get a list of good children's books and plan to read each one a few times over the course of a week or two, focusing on the vocabulary.

 

Tracy

[MissKNG]

I never "dumbed down" when speaking to my girls either, even as infants. I speak to my girls as I would any adult.

 

Also, I found out my big girl's reading COMPREHENSION was a lot higher than I thought. So I started buying more advanced chapter books to read to her (Like the Ralph S Mouse books). While I read to her, I'll stop at a word and ask if she knows what it means. If she says "no", then I tell her. She uses words she's learned from those books.

 

She's too young to do anything "formal" in regards to curriculum.

[sagira]

Taking notes here..

 

I know the book A Charlotte Mason Companion has a good section on elevating your vocabulary as a mom to influence your children. She talks about what CM advocated, Mother Culture, which involves a continued growth and education of yourself. Charlotte Mason recommends having one difficult book going, one medium (novel), and one easy book for pure enjoyment going on at the same time. With easy she didn't mean Sweet Valley High, but more along the lines of a current bestseller or self-help book.

 

I, myself, write so much smoother than I speak.

[KJsMom]

I never "dumbed down" when speaking to my girls either, even as infants. I speak to my girls as I would any adult.

 

:iagree: I think baby talk is annoying and almost handicaps children. My girls have used "adult" words since they learned to speak.

Maybe I'm weird, but I like vocabulary quizzes. If you want you can try this one http://freerice.com/. If I find a word that I don't know, I look it up and try to use it a few times so I will remember.

I think that it's great that you want to improve your own vocabulary to help your daughter. You need to give yourself the time and patience that you give your children.

[angela in ohio]

Probably what others have posted, but:

 

They read high quality literature. The older, the better the vocabulary. They don't look up every word. Most of them they can figure out from context, but if not, they look it up on their own.

 

I teach dc Latin. 90% of words in the English language that are three syllables or more (vocabulary words) are at least partly from Latin.

 

I use big words and taught dc to ask if they don't know the meaning. They generally pick them up from context, though. If you don't know the words yourself, pick up a word-of-the-day type resource and start using one or more purposefully each day. Watch shows or talk to people with excellent vocabularies.

 

Our brains are meant to acquire new words, especially when we are young. if they are exposed, they will get them.

[LAmom]

We definitely don't do baby talk over here! But a lady at a book sale yesterday was baby talking to my 6 yo. SIX. Sigh. Weird.

 

Thanks for all the great advice! I am on a mission.

[creekmom]

I think Verbal Advantage is a great book for building your vocabulary. It not only teaches the meaning, it tells you when to use the word. Here's a link..

 

http://www.amazon.com/Verbal-Advantage-Steps-Powerful-Vocabulary/dp/0375709320/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272240809&sr=8-1

[Rosie_0801]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! I will get my husband in on helping me. He has a much better vocabulary.

 

How come no one else has posted on how they feel my pain and have a bad vocabulary, too..... :001_smile:

 

 

Because I've only just read this thread ;)

 

I've aways read a lot, and not all of it fluff, but my vocabulary is still pretty bad. There's a few reasons for this. The first is that my mum stopped reading to me when I stopped being interested, which meant I never learned to pronounce a lot of words I'm familiar with in print. Secondly, I did an immersion course for a second language, and spending nearly all my functional waking hours in that language did bad things for my English. The third problem was having children. My vocab related brain cells must have been the weakest, so they were the first to go when preggie brain set in.

 

Eventually I'll get to doing something about it, but for now I'm working on a grammar program. One thing at a time :)

 

Rosie

[sbgrace]

I do think vocabulary is caught when heard. So you want to surround them with vocabulary. Though in childhood their brains are sponges you might find you pick it up too!

Since you struggle in this area I'd focus on good quality read alouds and also audio books.

There are some free high quality and classic works here: http://storynory.com/

You have a mix here (some with lots of vocab and others more simple) http://www.kiddierecords.com/ for free.

http://librivox.org/ is a little hard to search but has children's recordings and is free too.

Most libraries have some good audio books as well.

[LittleHouseHomeschool]

In the first couple of years we homeschooled we used vocab programs. They were dry and uninspiring. Pages were filled out, but vocabulary did not improve.

 

The single best thing we did in our homeschool is read quality literature aloud everyday. When we came to a word that we were unfamiliar with, we tried to figure out its meaning in context. If that didn't work, we went to the dictionary. We then read the sentence with the vocabulary word replaced with the definition. Voila! Comprehension. :hurray:

 

Occasionally, with particularly difficult words, we would make a vocabulary card and stick it in a box by my reading chair. Over the course of the week, we'd try to incorporate that word into our spoken language. But most often than not, we simply read and enjoyed the story.

 

Usually, about six months later the word would creep into my children's written and spoken langauge.

 

For older students (middle to high school) I recommend the Vocabulary for Enjoyment series, then Vocabulary for the High School Student, followed by Vocabulary for College. I don't think there is anything better. You can get any of these books at AMSCO or Hewitt Homeschooling with teacher keys.

[angela in ohio]

How come no one else has posted on how they feel my pain and have a bad vocabulary, too..... :001_smile:

 

The people who will open this thread and take the time to respond will tend to be people who feel strong about vocabulary. :001_smile: It won't be a representative sample of homeschool moms. :001_smile:

[LittleHouseHomeschool]

Originally Posted by LAmom

How come no one else has posted on how they feel my pain and have a bad vocabulary, too..... :001_smile:

+++++

I think it's because we've all been there. The reason we began to read aloud to improve vocabulary was because I recognized how poor my own education had been.

I shared our experience because many years ago I was in your position.

God has used me to educate my children and in the process has educated me! :001_smile: