Nighttime Spelling

For the past month or so Riley has added something into his normal bedtime routine. We don’t really sing songs anymore, but we do spell. Yes, spell.

I’m not sure how it started, but Riley will request a word, and whomever is putting him to bed will spell it out loud, tracing each letter on his chest.

He started out asking us to spell things he spotted around his room, like wall, fan, vent, door, picture, etc, as well as a few of his favorite colors.

And of course he asks to spell the names of some of his favorite people, like Mama, Daddy, Nola, Nopsi, Grandma, Grandpa, and Nicholas.

Lately, though, he’s obviously been thinking a bit more and asking us to spell the names of things he encountered throughout his day, like dirt, butterfly, wheelbarrow, dinosaur, truck, or ladder. He’s also started to ask for two-word phrases, like blue car, Army jeep, big truck, etc.

I LOVE that he is so into these spelling lessons. And of course I wonder just how much he is absorbing from them. He gets awfully still when we’re spelling out his requested words, so he must be listening and taking it all in.

My smart little wonk potatoes.