breaks

[alecstilleyedye]

My 8yr-old daughter has a better grasp of spelling and grammar than the most of the people I know. She's not been taught it at school - she's just been a voracious reader since she was very small. She's years ahead of her classmates in her reading ability, and I am in no doubt that the exposure to so much of the written word is behind her grammar and spelling.

Now - if ONLY she'd put the same effort and enthusiasm into getting on a bike and learning to ride....

sounds like my 10 year old daughter, who was at the level expected of year 7 students by the end of year 5.

 

[Fab Foodie]

same with tyre/tire.

for the record, i hardly read any books at home growing up, i'm just not the reading type, but my spelling is pretty much spot on.

Just issues with capitals then...

 

[threefingerjoe]

- I have seen this word used so many times that I was becoming convinced that perhaps, maybe, it was an alternative name for the important bits that slow us down, and hence 'break' the journey? - an 'Americanism' perhaps? But no - check out http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/brake

It is BRAKES after all!

Yes, I've noticed that quite often, too. As an American, I can assure you that if someone over here types "break" when refering to the stopping device, it's some kind of mistake...either through ignorance, or just a typographical error.

HOWEVER..."tire" is an American spelling, as is "curb". Also, we ride on the "pavement" and walk on the "sidewalk". We lift the "hood" of our cars to check the oil, and in case of a "flat", we carry a spare "tire" in the "trunk". Snow is pushed off the road by a snow"plow". "Color" "neighbor" "favor"...all correct spellings.

Was it George Bernard Shaw who said something about UK and USA being "two nations divided by a common language"?

And it's no wonder that we both get "criticized" for not learning a foreign language! It takes us our entire lives just to master "English"!

 

[mickle]

Aluminum.

 

[scook94]

{snip}

The lack of books being read by kids is also a concern for me too. We're already filling our daughter's nursery with books even though she's only 6 months old! She's going to grow up wanting to read books and eat fruit rather than watching TV and eating crisps!

Not being a parent it's hard for me to comment, other than to say I believe an important part of getting kids to read books starts with reading them a story every night while they are in bed. Thankfully it's something my sister does religiously with my nephew. Yet she tells me most of his pals are put to bed and fall asleep watching a video/dvd!

That's just poor/lazy parenting IMHO.

 

[rich p]

We read to our two children and my daughter grew up reading voraciously while my son refused to read books. He changed when he was about 20 and now reads only non-fiction heavyweights.
Some of this is out of your hands as parents but as long as you try.