Stupendous Sounds Like Stupid

How bout that phonological awareness?

Ok, so I'll spare you the literary jargon, and get to the point of my story. Yesterday Mia awoke from her nap and as usual the first thing she wanted to do was eat. So I nursed her, which took more effort than usual because, much to my dismay, she's become highly distractable, and nibbly. Afterwards, we sat on the bed playing. Naturally, Collin wanted to join us. He started jumping on the bed and she of course broke into a chorus of giggles. I made the comment "Mia, you're doing so great keeping your balance while Collin's jumping." Collin, my walking thesaurus, interjects "Actually, Mommy, she's doing stupendous." Ah, at barely three, you can already tell he's the child of a bibliophile.

I commented to him that I really liked the word he used, stupendous. He then says "You know, Stupendous sounds just like Stupid, but they don't say the same thing." While I was clearly impressed with his phonemic awareness (being able to hear the differences/similarities between sounds), and his ability to discern the meanings, I was displeased at his knowledge and use of the word "stupid." This is one of those words that he somehow got permission to use from SergeantDad and there's not a word I can say about it to him because "Daddy said it was fine to say, just not to people." So, for the record, Stupendous sounds like stupid, but don't say stupid to people.

On the teacher front, it's the countdown to FCAT Writes. I have knots in my stomach. My lessons for the next two weeks are so incredibly packed with information, and I hope at least half of it sinks in. Many of my students are still struggling to write coherent paragraphs and in just 12 school days they will have to write an entire essay. No pressure, TeacherMom, no pressure.