We have a house full of dictionaries. Student dictionaries....children's dictionaries...cheap paperback dictionaries from the Dollar Tree...
I hate most of them.
By the time my kiddos need to look a word up, odds are it's not going to be in one of those dictionaries. It's frustrating for someone who's still learning how to use the thing when none of the words he needs are actually in it! And then I've got to check to see if the word is really in there or not -- and the poor kid still hasn't found out what it actually means!
I spent months looking for a big unabridged version to replace my old one, the kind the bookstores always used to have on their bargain tables for $19.95. Grandma finally spotted one at a thrift store and I brought it home just before we got the Kindles.
The Kindles have dictionaries built in and a kid who wants to know what a word means can just click and have the definition right there.
I love that! As much as I'd like to, I'm not walking around with a head that contains the dictionary definition of every words my kids might stumble across. And sometimes when I'm absolutely positive I do know that dictionary definition, it turns out that the word doesn't mean what I thought it did.
Did you know that ichor is the fluid that flowed through the veins of Greek gods? I always thought it was the nasty stuff that spurts out of zombies.
So what do I do with all of these dictionaries? Paper a wall with them like Angie at Knick of Time Interiors did?
This post is linked to Works for me Wednesday at We are THAT Family and the Hip Homeschool Hop
I think they should make dictionaries which leave out words like 'dog' and 'chair'. If you are able to look up words in a dictionary, you probably already know what a dog and a chair are. Think how much thinner it would be. Also, how about a dictionary that has common misspellings, so you don't have to keep remembering if it is -ible or -able. The dictionary would show both and tell you which is correct.
ReplyDeleteI love the dictionary feature in Kindle. I'm a 'fiddler' as in I fiddle with my gadgets and their buttons to figure out all the parts. My hubby is not a 'fiddler'. Which means that even though he'd had his Kindle since Father's Day, he did *not* know that it had a dictionary feature. I was so pleased to be able to show him that this week! See if a local school or library (or even church) would be interested in your extra dictionaries! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a cute idea!!!!
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