Hello Book Bums families!
This week's newsletter is brought to you by the letter P. We're talking about popcorn, pumpkins, and even poop! You'll also find writing ideas and reading tools from Dr. Christy plus all our regular features.
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Word of the Week
cumbersome (kum-ber-sum) adjective/describing word - awkward and difficult to carry, handle, or use
Some dictionary definitions are so wordy and cumbersome that I don't understand the word any better than before I looked it up.
Literary Calendar
• October 11 is Myths and Legends Day.
• Initiated in 2007, this day is recognized internationally.
• Both adult and kids literature are full of stories rooted in myths and legends from around the world. (Think: Circe by Madeline Miller or anything by Rick Riordan.)
• If you want to dig into original stories head to the non-fiction section (398.2 in the Dewey Decimal system).
• If you prefer a fictional retelling, check out this article full of suggestions
From our Bookshelves
The Popcorn Book by Tomie de Paola is sure to delight your elementary-aged kids this fall. Your whole family will learn lots of interesting facts about popcorn (It should be kept in the refrigerator!) as you read this classic, informative book. I love how there are two things happening within the book: one kid’s sharing lots of facts while the other is sharing, step by step, how to make popcorn for a snack. Grab a copy from the library or a local bookseller. Nothing says fall like freshly popped popcorn and cider. Yum.
If you have younger kids, you might also like this counting toy by Learning Resources. It’s about $25, and it’s fun for dramatic play as well as promoting numeral identification and counting skills. I just got ours out to play with our three-year-old grandson while our granddaughter devours a lovingly worn copy of The Popcorn Book.
Tips for Families
The Great Pumpkin Fest is a free, family-friendly event held at Keehner Park in West Chester. This year it will be held on October 14th, beginning at 2:00 p.m. Activities typically include a puppet show, a petting zoo, a costume contest, a hay bale maze, a “not-so-haunted” trail, games, and more. Kids are invited to wear their costumes and to bring a bag or basket to collect candy. Though it’s free, they do ask that you register. Here’s a link for your convenience.
As you head out any fall festival, there are some things you might want to remember.
1. Take sunscreen and bug spray. Consider taking a sting relief medicine, too. Bees can be quite a nuisance this time of year—especially where there are sweets.
2. Though many festivals are free, there may be opportunities to make purchases. Take a little cash with you. Some vendors may not take credit cards, and technology doesn’t always cooperate at outdoor markets.
3. Consider investing in some rechargeable fans. They can really help to keep kids cool, especially in strollers. The moving air also seems to help keep bugs at bay.
4. Enjoy taking photos in the fall atmosphere, but try to enjoy being present with all your senses.
5. Be sure your kids know what to do if they should get separated from you. Have a plan—just in case.
Tips for Readers and Writers
Writing teachers advise writers to avoid the overuse of adverbs (those modifying verbs) describing actions and events. (Adverbs can also modify adjectives.) Have you observed how adverbs diminish one’s writing?
The door opened gradually, and the cat walked slowly into the room.
I was feverishly typing, breathing heavily. “What are you doing here?” I grumbled angrily.
That, we can agree, is cumbersome, and it begins to explain why teachers everywhere say that good writers “show, don’t tell” what is happening.
The door opened, slow as a snail, and the cat sauntered on in. My fingers skittered across the keyboard; my breathing labored. “What are you doing here? I spat.
Better?
Wordology Workshop
• The Latin root agri means field.
• It's a good root for autumn, as you can find it in the words agriculture, agribusiness, and agritainment, all referring to farm fields in some way.
Practical Grammar
The message on this cup might incite frustration with the English language, however, when we learn how words work, it’s not so frustrating after all.
At Book Bums, we’ve never shared the “i before e” rule. It’s just not so helpful. Rather, we teach kids two “rules” that help them to navigate words like those on the mug.
First, in our phonics progression, we teach that “When we have two vowels together, the first one says its name.” That’s true a lot of the time! The words leisurely and seize, from the mug, follow this rule.
Later in our progression, we teach our students about Flip Flops. Flip Flops (in the research this is called Set for Variability) equip kids to “flip” to another expected sound a letter or letter combination represents.
For the e-i letter combination, the second sound is /ay/ (like veins). The words eight, beige, reindeer, overweight, freight, neighbors, sleigh, and neigh are all Flip Flops.
So what about this one?
There are four words, here, where the e-i doesn’t say /ee/ (two vowels together) or /ay/ (Flip Flop).
The words foreign, counterfeit, and caffeinated are irregular, BUT the vowel sound we hear (the short i sound) is right there within the words. We can flip the sounds we see until we accurately decode the word.
Feisty (and height and sleight) are among the very few words where e-i flips to the long i sound, but that i is right there for us.
It’s not so darned overwhelming after all.
Just for Fun
You know you’re among readers when you receive a text including an image of a highlighted page along with the message, “No one has ever said they had to poop more eloquently.”
“Yes.” A rumble has commenced in my descending bowel, heralding a tremendous defecation.
Quote from The Moviegoer, by Walker Percy
Winner of the 1962 National Book Award and one of Time magazine's 100 Best English-Language Novels, Walker Percy's debut The Moviegoer is an American masterpiece and a classic of Southern literature.
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