The kidlets can S-P-E-L-L

I made an uncomfortable discovery today. Horse came into the kitchen where her siblings were eating their healthy snacks, and she asked if she could have a small piece of "c-a-n-d-y." Rooster immediately looked up and said, "Hey, I want some candy, too!" Horse looked a bit miffed that she was unable to keep her sweet tooth a secret, and asked how on earth Rooster knew what she was saying. I knew the answer. We only spell the fun words, so those are the words that the younger kidlets learn how to spell first.

"Hey, Mom, can we watch a m-o-v-i-e?" "I'm hungry for a s-n-a-c-k." "Rooster wants an expensive toy for Christmas. I'm thinking it should be a gift from S-a-n-t-a." "I picked up a b-i-r-t-h-d-a-y g-i-f-t for you-know-who." "Mommy really wants to take a n-a-p." (This last one is translated directly into, "We get to watch a m-o-v-i-e," by the kidlets. They're quick learners.) By now, the kidlets have realized that if they start hearing letters strung together, it generally means something good will happen to them. Want to plan a fun outing to Grandma's house? Spell out the details. Want to purchase a little something special for the family? Spell it. Talking about a visit from a friend? Spell out their name. The second letters start flying out of our mouths, six small ears perk up and start paying attention.

This spelling has gotten a bit more challenging over the years. With a nine-year-old who can spell a fair number of words, we sometimes attempt to spell quickly enough that she cannot follow. Unfortunately, this means that neither can the other adult involved in the conversation. This leads to repetitive spelling, which almost always gets us found out. Horse sometimes asks us about the words we are spelling by using the actual words instead of spelling them herself. This kind of defeats the purpose of straining our brain cells to spell them in the first place. In circumstances where the spelling is to prevent the younger two kidlets from finding something out, we have been known to resort to Pig Latin to tell Horse to keep her trap shut: "Ix-nay on the alking-tay." When we are trying to keep it a secret from our eldest child, we either have to wait until she is asleep or send a text message to one another, which is just silly when we're sitting at the dinner table across from each other.

What we probably should start doing is spelling out words that are not really secrets from the kidlets. "I think it's time to p-a-y the b-i-l-l-s." "Can you do the d-i-s-h-e-s for me tonight?" "I got a call from the l-i-b-r-a-r-y today. We have an overdue b-o-o-k." If we do this often enough, one of two things will happen. Either the kidlets will start to glaze over when we spell things, thus keeping our ability to spell in front of them intact, or they will greatly increase the number of words they are capable of spelling. It's a win-win situation! H-u-z-z-a-h for solutions!