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Ana asked me what the meaning of NASA is.
Dec. 17th, 2012 02:42 pmMe: NASA? All caps?
Her: Yep!
Me: Well, when a word is in all capital letters like that, each letter stands for a word. We call this sort of abbreviation an -
Ana: Acronym, I know.
Me: Right, and when you look at the word acronym, you can take it apart and work out*.... Wait. Ana, have I told you about this before?
Ana: No, my teacher did.
Me: Your teacher.
Ana: And we're supposed to find out the meaning of NASA before tomorrow.
Me: Aha! You nearly got me there! Hah! No, I will not tell you the meaning of the word! Look it up yourself!
Ana: Darn. (Pages ahead to the N section in the dictionary while I head back to the kitchen)
A little while later I checked in on them again. "Ana, did you find the definition of NASA yet?"
Ana: No.
Me: What do you mean?!
Ana: It wasn't there!
I did not believe that for one second, and took the book up, fully expecting in a few seconds to point to the word and say "Here! Here it is! Right where you left it, and had it been a snake it would've bit you!" but, to my surprise and consternation it really wasn't there. I was so shocked I checked again three times that night. We looked it up online.
* You might believe I talk like this because I enjoy etymology, or because I want the nieces to learn something. While those things are mostly true, my motivation is a little more sensible. I want them to stop asking me things. It hasn't worked yet, but sooner or later it's bound to, and in the meantime for them to learn something is an acceptable consolation prize.
Her: Yep!
Me: Well, when a word is in all capital letters like that, each letter stands for a word. We call this sort of abbreviation an -
Ana: Acronym, I know.
Me: Right, and when you look at the word acronym, you can take it apart and work out*.... Wait. Ana, have I told you about this before?
Ana: No, my teacher did.
Me: Your teacher.
Ana: And we're supposed to find out the meaning of NASA before tomorrow.
Me: Aha! You nearly got me there! Hah! No, I will not tell you the meaning of the word! Look it up yourself!
Ana: Darn. (Pages ahead to the N section in the dictionary while I head back to the kitchen)
A little while later I checked in on them again. "Ana, did you find the definition of NASA yet?"
Ana: No.
Me: What do you mean?!
Ana: It wasn't there!
I did not believe that for one second, and took the book up, fully expecting in a few seconds to point to the word and say "Here! Here it is! Right where you left it, and had it been a snake it would've bit you!" but, to my surprise and consternation it really wasn't there. I was so shocked I checked again three times that night. We looked it up online.
* You might believe I talk like this because I enjoy etymology, or because I want the nieces to learn something. While those things are mostly true, my motivation is a little more sensible. I want them to stop asking me things. It hasn't worked yet, but sooner or later it's bound to, and in the meantime for them to learn something is an acceptable consolation prize.
