Hey Reader,

Here's one for the lunch table: Noah Webster, the man behind America's first big dictionary, wanted us to spell tongue "tung" and daughter "dawter." Those never caught on, but dropping the "u" from colour did. His birthday is this Friday, October 16, which makes it National Dictionary Day. And Wednesday the 14th is National Dessert Day. One for the brain, one for the sweet tooth. 📖🧁

Here are 3 ways to make them count:

📖 1. Play "guess before you look"
Webster spent 22 years on his 1828 dictionary, learned 26 languages along the way, and ended up with about 70,000 words. Honor him by not running straight to the dictionary. When your kids hit a new word, have them guess the meaning from the sentences around it, then look it up to check. That's context clues, the skill strong readers use without thinking. Our Context Clues reading passage gives them a story to practice on.

✂️ 2. Let the dictionary show them how to chop big words
Open any dictionary and you'll see words split with little dots: dic·tion·ar·y. That's a secret map for reading long words. Have your kids pick three "monster words" from a read-aloud, clap the syllables, then check the dictionary to see if they were right. Our Chunk Big Words worksheet (3rd grade) turns it into a game. Little ones just starting out can begin with the tiniest words of all in our new Sight Word Book: the and Sight Word Book: of.

🧁 3. Turn dessert into a decimal lesson
Let your kids pick a Dessert Day recipe, then ask this: the recipe needs 0.5 pounds of butter, and the package says 0.45 pounds. Is that enough? Lots of kids say yes, because 45 is bigger than 5. Line up the decimal points (0.50 vs. 0.45) and the answer jumps out. Plus, they get to eat the homework. Older kids can keep going with our Comparing and Ordering Decimals worksheet (5th grade).

📚 After dessert, grab a book
Book Explorer has comprehension quizzes on the books your child already reads, so you know they understood the story and didn't just turn the pages.

👉 Try the Book Explorer demo

The books your kids already love, with a quick quiz to show what stuck.

Also this week: The Great Safari Art Contest closes October 31, so there's still time for a Rousseau jungle, and our family Give-Back Challenge kicks off November 1. New in Lion's Library: Trade a Ten for 2nd grade subtraction, plus the sight word books above. If you're planning next week, Safari Station lays out every subject week by week, and the Safari Planner keeps attendance and grades in one spot. Need a cozy read-aloud? Kristy's fall picture book The Acorn Cottage (ages 3–7) is a sweet one. And if you love telling friends what works, our affiliate program pays 20% of every sale you send our way.

Have a warm, curious kind of week,
Khara & Kristy
The Homeschool Safari Team 🌿
info@homeschoolsafari.com
480-382-6006

Yes! We accept ESA in Arizona, New Hampshire, Utah, Wyoming, and Arkansas.

PS: Hit reply and tell us: what's the funniest made-up spelling your kid has ever written? (Noah Webster would probably approve.) We read every message. ✏️

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