This is what transpires when Jamie and I are trying to plan a fun day for Max. Let's say we're going to take him to the zoo, then out for ice cream, then, what the heck, we'll order pizza for dinner.
Here's how it goes.
Lizz: Hey, babe. What are we going to do today?
Jamie: I don't know… we could go to the B-A-S-E-B-A-L-L-G-A-M-E
L: Yeah…
J: Or the Z-O-O
L: Ooh! That sounds good. Let's do that.
J: OK.
L: We need to pack some F-O-O-D. What do we have?
J: Ummm… C-H-E-E-S-E, B-A-N-A-N-A-S and C-R-A-C-K-E-R-W-H-A-L-E-S
L: Perfect. And then I was thinking we could go get I-C-E-C-R-E-A-M on the way home.
J: OK, that's a great idea!
L: Hey Max, what do you want for dinner tonight?
Max: Nothin'
L: Okey dokey. Well, Jamie, we could get a P-I-Z-Z-A
J: Yeah, as long it gets here before Max has to go to B-E-D
Yup. We've resorted to spelling things so Max doesn't hear us talking about what we're plotting. We had a shock the other day, though, when Jamie suggested going to the “Z-O-O” and Max immediately looked up from what he was doing and said “I wanna go to the zoo! I want to see lions and elephants and giraffes!” A lucky fluke or is he figuring it out? We'll never know, but now we have to think twice before spelling a simple work like zoo…
Amber knew what an N-A-P was long long ago. We'd spell it and she'd start to whail "Nooooo! I don't need a ennaypee!"
–Beth
Bwahahaha! Sounds like my kindergarten students! They catch on quick!
Kids learn to spell pretty quickly, or at least they learn that a spelled-out word is a substitute for the pronounced one quickly.
We occasionally have to use entirely different words to manage Ellie's expectations. Expect "frozen bovine lactation" and "exotic fauna exhibition" to work a few times before Max catches on to those, too.
LOL, Wayfarer. I'm gonna have to start using some of those.