My kid rules~!~ or Introducing the new punctuation mark
First and foremost, Liz and I created a new punctuation mark as evidenced in the title of this post. The pedestrian exclamation point has been improved for teens and adults across the globe. Why?
Because there are times when you really want to, pardon the pun, punctuate a sentence with tons of emotion. Sometimes a solitary exclamation point won’t do and duplicate explanation points are juvenile, in my opinion.
Hence the new punctuation ~!~
It represents a sea of strong emotion. And the keys are conveniently located right next to each other. Hold down your shift key and hit `1. The ` key is to the left of the 1 key and I’ve never used that mark before. Ever.
I don’t even know what that symbol is called, so that’s an added benefit right there. The ` key is getting more publicity. In my head, when I read that I substitute the sound “uhnt” for that symbol.
The ` key is finally being used. You’re welcome ` key. Bonus points for anyone who can give me the correct name and pronunciation for that symbol and the traditional usage of that symbol. Let the Google search begin!
I must issue a word of caution regarding the use of the new punctuation mark. It is to be used sparingly or else the meaning will degenerate. You will notice, through the rest of this post, I have only used it occasionally to keep its value high.
Moving on.
This is your basic gushing-on-my kid post. Leave now if you can’t take today’s sugary goodness (waves goodbye to those readers.) See you tomorrow when the dark cloud of sarcasm returns.
My middle kid is in first grade and is learning to read. She memorized all of the basic sight words in Kindergarten and is learning new words each day via flash cards. We’re still working on the concept of sounding words out but she’s getting the hang of it.
Anyway, yesterday she actually read an intriguing story about a cat named Sam. It’s called “Sam Come Back!” by Susan Stevens Crummel.
Now this isn’t your basic Sam is a cat. Sam ran. Sam the cat ran.
Well it sort of is, but there’s mystery and intrigue. Why did Sam run away? Did he come back as the title demanded? What about the lady in the book whose feet are enormous? I don’t have time to scan the photo but they’re huge, trust me.
So we went over it and then she read it aloud to me and Emily. She actually read it to Emily as a bed time story and it was awesome~!~
But even more awesome was the little trick taught to her by her first grade teacher. After she read through it four or five times she declared, “Now I need to read it backwards because it’s getting too easy.”
This is where the needle on the record came screeching to a halt and silence fell upon the room. “Say what?” I replied.
“Mrs. C said to read the story backwards. Word by word.”
I thought she meant read page 17 from left to right and then page 16 from left to right and so on. No, she read the order of the words in the sentences backwards — from right to left like our Hebrew friends. And then went backwards page by page.
As in: cat that nab! way that ran Sam.
Check that out gingah! That’s a very clever way of shaking and stirring those words via the thought process. As you know, small children tend to memorize pages of stories that are read over and over even though they do not understand the words on the page. Reading the words backwards is a way to make sure they are not just memorizing each page.
Snaps to you Mrs. C, snaps to you.
In addition, these little stories have a study section at the end. That’s right, this first grade book has a study section at the end of each story, but I have to read it to her since it uses big words. She was asked, in the study section at the end of that story, to deduce what the word nab meant based on the content and the illustrations. Yeah, jack.
Now maybe this is a standard teaching method. I ain’t a teacher and I never said I was. But I thought that was pretty slick.
So there. Definitive proof that my kid rules~!~ And so does her teacher.
First? Really? Dang! (see, boring punctuation used, heh)
GOOD FOR YOU (darn it, can’t remember middle girl’s name….)!!!
And yay for Mrs. C, too!
Here’s to a marvelous day to you…I’m alive, just busy.
Isn’t that crazy Anne? My kid in fourth grade (Katie) needs a FLASH DRIVE! Allison is the first grader — as in good for you Allison!
Can you fill me in on how to use this new punctuation, please? I’m all frazzled from texting, so I’ll need a cheat-sheet on that one, okay? ~!~ Oh, hey–I just realized it looks like two closed eyes and a big nose–great for texting too! So, when my kid is calling for a ride, I’ll send her that—like “I’m sleeping/ignoring you. Go away!” Works for me. Thanks, CG!
Cool teaching method, I have to say. But I think repetition and memorizing words is okay too. I miss my Reading Coach days at the primary school!! boo hoo!
I like the face it makes — kind of like it’s so over the issue it needs to close its eyes in frustration.
But back to its usage. It’s total angst or frustration, however it can also be used in a happy sense to express huge joy. It’s one of those things that goes case by case but mostly expresses huge emotion. Good or bad.
It’s a tilde. The name of the symbol.
That’s correct Lola, ~ is the tilde key. I was wondering what the mark underneath that tilde is called. Here’s a link to a picture of the keyboard. See that ` mark underneath the tilde? What’s that called?
Ok…you know one of us was going to have to look that up for you…here you go
That key (`) is called a grave accent and here’s an explanation
Third, a grave accent (`) is occasionally written over the letter e in the ending -ed to show that it is pronounced as a separate syllable. Thus we write a learnèd scholar or an agèd man to show that learnèd and agèd are each pronounced here as two syllables. Compare I learned French at school and He has aged rapidly, in which learned and aged are pronounced as single syllables.
from http://www.informatics.sussex.ac.uk/department/docs/punctuation/node43.html#SECTION000109000000000000000
buf, that’s what i thought it was, an accent mark. the one under the tilde.
Once again Buf, you slam through home plate and win the game for the team! Way to go!
And I absolutely love the pronunciation of learnèd and agèd. But I also wonder how you invoke the key to get it to appear directly above the e.
Obviously when I use the shift key I get the tilde. I did try the control key and the alt key but they’re having none of it. Oh, as you might have guessed I copied and pasted from your comment.
Anyway, excellent work!
I copied and pasted too…lol
My guess is that you would have to change to a keyboard set up for a language that uses the grave accent…I think this can be done through the control panel but didn’t actually try it.
Yes, it’s an accent. And yes, your kid rocks.
Sweet and thanks~!~
I’m glad you liked it, gave me a bit of a surprise this morning.
I understand using accent marks but am I missing on how to actually get the ` above the appropriate letter?
Good for Allison. Reading is so exciting. I would be proud. I remember my first book, “Ned’s Number Book.” We read it over and over. Do you have “There’s a Monster at the end of this Book?” It was the best.
I used to take each sentence in my college papers from back to front to proofread. It’s a handy tool.
I did like it. I loved it~!~ You’re my muse, Liz.
I’m with you. I used the alt key and the ctrl key but couldn’t get it. Not like I need to use this accent mark.
I do not have the monster book, but I think I’ll have to pick it up at the library. I hadn’t considered using that method for proofreading; I can see how that would be very helpful.
Amended: I have submitted a hold for “There’s a Monster Under my Bed” at the library and I look forward to seeing what this breathing creature under the bed is. My guess: a cat.
Though that looks fun. My fave book was a Sesame Street monster.
http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Birds-Favorites-Board-Books/dp/0375805613#
One, I don’t have that darn accent! Maybe it’s my phone, but it is not next to the 1!
Two, Congratulations to your little one. Soon she will be smarter than you. Get ready for it! It so took me by surprise! Past 5th grade first semester math, I am no help to my children. They just stopped asking me, and I would just say, ask your sister.
I had to laugh LaTonya, I looked at my phone when I read this. My land line phone and it doesn’t have any characters. And then I realized how out of touch I am. You must be talking about a cell phone/blackberry that has a keyboard for texting. I’m so 1980.
I am seriously afraid of the day that I can’t understand their homework. Although my oldest kid is in fourth grade so I know the day is fast approaching.
I use that “tilde” symbol all the time in my post titles. So much more exciting than the dash. In fact, I think the name dash sounds like it should have a cool look like the tilde squiggle. Tilde sounds boring and should be the straight line.
It is more exciting than the dash. It has panache. Ooh, I wonder if that word requires an accent mark or a tilde above one of the vowels.
Very cool little learning lesson there. I wonder if using that theory will help me understand the Bible better?? Or should I say ~?~
And on another note: you reminded me of that darn song “The Cat Came Back”, and its thundering through my head AGAIN ~!~
(laughs) I could use more help in that area as well.
LJ you gave me the biggest smile when you mentioned The Cat Came Back. I had to look that up on YouTube both times because I’ve never heard it before. It’s pretty catchy, that tune, and just prime for an earworm, isn’t it?
After reading the lyrics I have to say that cat is like my father. The punk.
That is a cool way of making sure kids know the words. Simple and it works.
It is helpful, isn’t it? Those are often the best ideas and they’re always the ones that make me say, “Why didn’t I think of that?”