Reading the dictionary for fun!

[planner]

I always wondered why my kid's didn't enjoy looking at the children's dictionary like I did when I was a kid.  I would study the pictures and diagrams for fun.  My children act like they don't know we have a dictionary.  Well, it's finally happened.  At age 12, ds has discovered there are cool diagrams and pictures.  Right now, he's studying a diagram of a motor boat while eating lunch.

[Excelsior! Academy]

I have a dd that did this. She has a fantastic vocabulary!

[LinRTX]

This reminds me of a funny story about my youngest. She loved looking at the dictionary when she was in 1st-2nd grade. I took her to the bookstore one time and she grabbed the Children's Dictionary off the shelf and sat down to read it. It was the same one we had at home that she was always reading. I asked her why she chose that one since we had it already.

 

Her answer:

 

"I want to see if they added any words since we bought ours."  :lol:

 

I had to chuckle. She is 7 years younger than her next sibling, but I don't think children's dictionaries change that fast.

[Twigs]

I have a funny story, too.

 

I ran into a high school friend (several years later) at our local community college. We chatted a few minutes. One of the things she said was that her English teacher was really weird. The English teacher did not like to stop reading to look up an unfamiliar word because she would get distracted by reading the dictionary. I didn't have the nerve to say I did the same thing!

[KrissiK]

I used to do that. When I was growing up we had World Book Encyclopedia and I'd just sit down with a volume every once in a while and devour it.

[Luanne]

I have a funny story, too.

 

I ran into a high school friend (several years later) at our local community college. We chatted a few minutes. One of the things she said was that her English teacher was really weird. The English teacher did not like to stop reading to look up an unfamiliar word because she would get distracted by reading the dictionary. I didn't have the nerve to say I did the same thing!

 

My daughter and I both do this.  Neither of us like to look up words because we know we will get too distracted by the dictionary.  I love reading the dictionary.  I also love perusing the encyclopedias.

[Twigs]

I used to do that. When I was growing up we had World Book Encyclopedia and I'd just sit down with a volume every once in a while and devour it.

 

 

My daughter and I both do this.  Neither of us like to look up words because we know we will get too distracted by the dictionary.  I love reading the dictionary.  I also love perusing the encyclopedias.

 

I think we're kindred spirits. My main source of reading material (no library!) between the ages of 6 and 12 was the World Book. I miss them!

[Kareni]

I enjoyed this book a few years ago.  Perhaps you might, too.

 

Reading the OED: One Man, One Year, 21,730 Pages by Ammon Shea

 

This book is sitting on my shelf waiting an opportune moment.  I heard excellent reviews when it first came out.

 

The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester

 

Regards,

Kareni