Ix-nay on the ord-way oo-zay! How teaching your child to read changes your own language

Sage has been working very hard on learning to read a few words. We started doing some flashcards on our road-trip and she is doing really well. However yesterday, I realized how much her learning to read was going to impact my own communications with other adults.

She is really in the mood to go to the zoo. The problem is 89-95 degree weather does not lend itself to my ideal zoo days. I have been telling her that we will go to the zoo soon, but soon is so abstract for her that she asks about it every day. AND I try not to say that we might go on a CERTAIN day until I know for sure that we are really going to do it, because I don't want her to get her hopes up and then have it not happen.

My dear college friend that lives in Germany is coming into town next week with his wife and two children and our phone conversation planning our day went a little like this: 

• Jon - We were thinking about either going to the zoo or the science center.
• Me - Oh! Yes we would like to do either of those, but especially, we have been talking about going to the, well, uh, the first one, the Z-O-er-uh-oops, I can't spell that word anymore to hide what I am talking about from her because she knows how to spell and read it.
• Jon - What's wrong Em? What word are you trying to not spell? Com'on tell me the word. (He has always liked to cause trouble). 
• Me - Well you see we are learning to read and that is one of her favorite words.
• Jon - I can't have this conversation until you can tell me the word. (he likes to goad me).
• Me - let me think pig-latin....Hmmm I wasn't good at this when I was a kid.  The oo-zay? Yeah that's right, let's go to the oo-zay....

In the end, we decided to do the zoo in the morning and the science center in the afternoon and the whole conversation was our normal banter, like being transported back to college.

But I did have a huge realization about the ways in which adults hold conversations in front of children when they don't want the child to know what is going on. We SPELL. I was suddenly struck with visions of having to learn sign language - nope my fingers don't work well enough; learn Spanish - wait thanks to Dora Sage knows Spanish better than me; take to writing conversations down and passing the note across the table - too tedious; or stop having adult conversations altogether - nope not an option either.

I guess I have some studying to do. Oes-Day Ny-Aay ant-way o-tay each-tay e-may o-tay eak-spay ig-pay atin-lay?

Oh, no I am in rouble-Tay!

Emily A. Filmore, Author
http://www.withmychildseries.com/
blog.withmychildseries.com