Vocabulary

One of the things that I decided I wanted to work on this year is Thoughtful's vocabulary.  Our science curriculum is heavy on the vocabulary, but I wanted something for real life.  I really don't foresee him discussing the earth's axis and revolutions, etc. with his buddies. 

So, what's a Momma to do?  She finds the cheap way, of course.

I found this Children's Dictionary at a local homeschooler's delight, an annual used-curriculum sale.  There are lots of deals to be had, and this year I found this beauty!

Do you see the price?  That's right, a whopping $1.50!!

Please don't be jealous. (smile)

Here's how we use it:

Thoughtful opens the workbox to find the Dictionary and his vocabulary book with a sticky note telling him which look to look up.



I always look in the Dictionary to choose a word to assign.

Thoughtful looks up the word,

and completes this fill-in-the-blank worksheet that I created for him.

He writes the word, defines it (simply as you can see), finds a synonym and an antonym, and draws a picture describing the word, if possible.

Last, he cuts off the borders of the page and glues it into his book.  He loves to cut and glue.  That in itself makes this a fun activity to him.  I would much rather punch holes and slip it into a binder, but that would take away his fun.

We always discuss the word and its possible meanings.  He uses it in a sentence with me, but I don't require my dysgraphic guy to write it. 

Dictionary Skills are one of our "extras" that we squeeze in a few times a week, but not everyday.

What do you use to enhance vocabulary for your younger kiddos?

 

I'm linking to Learning All the time's Favorite Resources of the Week, where you can find other great ideas to enhance your children's homeschool days.  Just click the button!