Just A Wee Bit Fascinated With the Wii!

Posted by Andrea | 0 comments

What has the gaming industry done to my child’s education?

My six-year-old is working learning to spell correctly using Sequential Spelling. Last week we were working on words that contain double E’s. He was doing great until we arrived at the word “wee”. The sentence was “The wee little lad has an eye for wee little lasses”. I instructed him to write the word “wee”. He caught me off guard and said, “Oh, I know, I know, I know this one!” Seeing him all excited got me all excited, this is not a common word that is used every day -or year for that matter- so the fact that he knew it was wonderful.

“OK, write it,” I said

You know where this is going don’t you?

He wrote “Wii”. Just. Like. That.

Yes, that is what he wrote. I had to break his little heart but I did it by the book. I wrote the correct spelling on the dry erase board, “wee”. He was so confused after that but what do you tell a six year old? At least he pays attention to something. I was proud and at the same time a bit let down. So, then he says, “How many ways can you spell one word?”

I stood silent and closed the book. After my short pause I said, “Well that is it for today.” I didn’t have the heart to tell him that the English language is so complex and that some words that sound alike but have different meanings can be spelled in a few different ways! For now we will work by the book, because that is the only answers I have.

I guess that I have the gaming industry to thank and LeapFrog has created the “Didj”, a must have for any elementary age child. This is a customizable learning system and I like that. What is with all the crazy spelling? Have you encountered any such madness?

Andrea is a laid back gal from the south who has been married to a loud little Italian man named Darin for 7 years. They have two kids: one thinks he is a professional wrestler and the other thinks she is a professional princess (yes she wants to be paid to be bossy and prissy.) She has recently given up the corporate world to step into a land of kisses and learning. You can visit her at her blog: The Honest Woman. Help!