We’ve been suffocated by Abby’s 5th grade homework assignments so far this year. There have been many days when her homework takes her from when she gets home to well past her bedtime to complete. As a result, Berta and I have been helping her - more directly - to cope with the overwhelming onslaught of busywork.

More than a few times while helping Abby to complete her homework, I’ve pulled some arcane word out of my back pocket and suggested that she write it into her responses, only to be reprimanded by Berta for producing language that Abby wouldn’t use in completing her assignments on her own. I suppose that’s fine, but as a result I’ve not been using the “big words” in daily routine.

Sometime within the past week, I declared at the dinner table, “No longer will I be subject to retarding my IQ by 20 points because of some arbitrary rule that my kids can’t seem smart!” And that was the end. I’ve decided that I’m going to use all of the big words around the kids all the time, so that they have exposure and start to incorporate them into their writing early. Sure, it’s so that we can cheat on homework, but at least it may result in a better vocabulary for the kids while we’re doing it.