I never get any peace and quiet anymore between the time the little red-haired girl goes to bed and her falling asleep, but I don’t mind at all.
“Daaa-deee,” she’ll call from her bedroom five minutes after bedding down. “What does philanthropic mean?”
So I get up out of my chair and go in to tell her.
“Well, philanthropic is being nice to other people, but in a way that benefits everybody. Like you donate a lot of money to support a hospital for sick children, or for buying space for young artists to work in. That’s being philanthropic. It has two root words in one - philo- meaning love of, and anthropos- meaning human being.
Forfeiture
Epiphany
Sophisticated
Pandemonium
Euphoric
Voyeurism
Subjugate
Co-dependent dysfunctionality
I’ve always spoken English with her, but she’s only 11, been taking English in her German high school for all of eight months, and I’ve never used such vocabulary in my conversations with her, so where does it come from?
Calvin and Hobbes. The Complete Calvin and Hobbes, 1400 pages spread over three volumes in a boxed set covering 10 years’ worth of colour and black-and-white comics.
She’d already dog-eared the two Calvin compilations I’d given her, books from my younger days when I too was a fan of the little guy with the big ideas and his imaginary tiger. She bought another one herself a few months ago, but after also reading through that one several times over, went on a hunt for more. After discovering the three-volume set up for auction on eBay, she snapped it up, using her own allowance and birthday money.
I know she’ll probably not retain half of the new words she comes across this way, but that’s not important right now. Expat parents are always trying to make sure their native language gets passed on to their kids in the face of the constant bombardment of the majority language and culture they swim in.
If she’s found something in English she not only loves to read but can’t seem to get enough of, my job is that much easier.
© 2008 lettershometoyou
Very cute…
I never would have thought of C&H as a great source to teach language, but I have to say that you’ve reminded me how great it was. Bill Waterson really did cover some pretty complicated topics through his simple kid.
I’ve used the same tactic with my kids (although I’m the German speaker). It works very well. And, it makes for some fun conversations with the kids. I’ve done the same for German as well as the oldest two kids had to dive into the German school system in the middle of third grade. The Calvin & Hobbes tip is a good idea. There weren’t many bad days for that Bill Waterson, so the kids would definitely keep on reading.
Cool way to learn English. I wish my parents had given me some C&H instead of Penthouse when I was growing up. Would have made a huge difference.
Don’t worry, Ms. Leaky Brain, at least you learned early how to insert a well-timed “needless to say” into your storylines.
Adam and Gardner: it’s amazing, isn’t it? Open the book just about anywhere and you can get a laugh.
This is just so adorable. I’m also a C&H fan - don’t know what I’d do without the daily cartoon that appears on my Netvibes page. I’ve been eyeballing that complete set on Amazon for years (no, Nog has never taken the hint!) so all I can say is that if I were 11 I’d love for you to be my dad!
I just got out of my transmogrifier where I was transmogrified into a Hamburger! Next time I’ll try to transmogrify myself into a philanthropist.
az, I didn’t buy it for her! As soon as we’d won the auction she came over with a wad of five- and 10-euro bills and paid me for it.
BTW, it also comes with an extensive forward Watterson, his life and career. If you’re a fan, you won’t regret it.
bb - or at least a hamburger-munching philanthropist.
I still have all of my old C&H collections . . . the complete set is going to be my Christmas gift to myself this year, for sure (as I’ll have a “real job” and some disposable income), as my old paperbacks are all completely falling apart.
I remember that C&H taught me “dysfunctional” and “manifest destiny.”
Ahh, we LOVE Calvin and Hobbes, in fact we almost named on of our boys Calvin, but decided against at the last minute. I’m a fan from waaay back and when I introduced C&H to my husband to it he bought every book he could get his hands on. The kids took it up from there. Excellent language learning tool and hilarious to boot.
More fans! I am getting into it again, though I do find the tomes a bit weighty - hardcover, and about 450 pages apiece.