My daughter Julia came to live with me two years ago for school. It isn't easy for me to raise someone who is practically my nine-year-old clone, but that is exactly what I find I am doing with Julia. Through our judo and soccer practices, reading, writing and arithmetic, Girl Scouts, and Japanese language classes, we occasionally have a conversation that connects us both in a sometimes deep and usually humorous way. Hopefully, you will be as entertained as we are.

Riding on a Road

Julia is doing her homework and Daddy notices a small error… 

Daddy:  Julia, in this sentence, “I rode a horse…,” you circled “rode” as being misspelled.  Are you sure you’re correct?

Julia:  Yes, I see it all the time spelled on street signs – it’s spelled R-O-U-D.

Daddy:  Well, actually, it is spelled R-O-A-D.

(pause)

Julia:  Oh, O.K., R-O-A-D.  It’s still misspelled.

Daddy:  Yea, but a road is a thing you walk or drive on: R-O-A-D.  This word is the past tense of something you do; remember, I ride, I rode, I have ridden?  Those words are verbs and are spelled differently so actually this word is spelled correctly.  You need to erase what you’ve done here and you still have to find one more misspelled word.

Julia:  No, I have to find two.

Daddy:  Yea… but…  Sigh.  O.K., you have to find two.