Speak Up
Mood:  quizzical
Topic: Lauren
Like most parents, we want Lauren to be well-read and well-spoken. I'm sure these two things will come to pass, but we also want Lauren to have what we do not have - an extensive speaking vocabulary. Tony and I are both fairly well-read and well-spoken, however, neither one of us grew up in a house where the members had outstanding speaking vocabularies. A bit above adequate maybe, but nowhere near great. In fact, we are constantly lamenting the fact that even if we know and understand many of the words used by those with great speaking vocabularies, we simply do not put them into practice. The question we are faced with is how do we help Lauren develop a wonderful speaking vocabulary when we don't have it ourselves? Sure we can read, read, read, but I wonder if that is enough. Growing up, I read, read, read and it didn't do much for my speaking vocabulary. Whether this is because I was quite shy or because I wasn't immersed in an atmosphere where the skill existed is a good question. I tend to believe it was the latter. We have been trying to use multiple words for the same thing so she hears, learns, and eventually uses them herself. I think this, in combination with the reading, may help some. If you have any other ideas, please let us know.