Study the word HOBBY:
A hobby is something you like to do (or something you like to play with) for fun, or for relaxation, when you have free time and you're not working or studying. Hobbies bring you joy and fill your time.
Your hobbies might include painting, reading books, playing a musical instrument, building things with Legos, or carving figures out of wood. Or, your hobby might be collecting something. You might collect old stamps or interesting rocks; if you do, then your hobby is a lot of fun for you as you find, organize, and play with your beloved items.
(Source) My grandfather's hobbies included making wine and building model airplanes. My hobbies include reading books, playing the ukulele and the piccolo guitar, and learning new ways to style hair and makeup. You can always ask someone about their hobbies: it's a good way to get them talking, and a good way to get to know them and the things they love to do.
Study the word COMPANION:
When you have company, you have people with you who are spending time with you. Someone who keeps you company is a companion. In other words, a companion is someone who spends time with you: someone who hangs out with you, goes places with you, and does things with you. Your companions can be friends or family members, or even pets.
(Source)
If you're feeling lonely, seek out companionship! Companionship is having someone with you, keeping you company.
If you're a good companion, you're companionable: you're warm, friendly, easy to hang out with, and fun to spend time with.
Study the word INVENT:
When you invent something, you're the first person to make it or create it! And when you invent a story, or an invent a reason, you're making it up. You might invent a new game, invent a new machine, or invent a new, better way to do something.
Pippi invented a fun new way to clean the floor:
(Source)
The thing that someone invents is an invention. What are your favorite inventions? Mine are cars, air conditioning, and smartphones.
The movie clip below shows a very cool invention: a car that travels through time. Do you think we'll ever invent time travel?
If you like to invent new things, and you're always coming up with creative, interesting ideas, then you're an inventive person. Your ideas are inventive, too. If you tell your parents, "I can't eat my broccoli today, because I've accidentally swallowed a tiny alien who's allergic to broccoli, and if I eat any, he'll die!"—that's an inventive excuse: a creative, interesting, never-before-heard excuse.
Study the word APPRECIATE:
When you appreciate something, you say or know how good or special it is. To appreciate something is to see that's important and valuable. You love it, and you're thankful for it. You can appreciate things or appreciate people: either way, you're feeling or showing how precious they are to you. For example, if someone gives you an award, you're likely to show your appreciation by saying something like, "Thank you. Wow. This means a lot to me."
You can also show your appreciation to someone with a smile or a hug. If you're feeling appreciative of someone, you might even write them a thank-you note.
If someone helps you, does a favor for you, or gives you a gift, you appreciate it. Someone gave this squirrel a whole bunch of delicious nuts, and you bet he appreciates it!
Study the word DEVOTE:
When you devote yourself to something, you care about it very much, so you spend a lot of time and energy on it.
You might devote yourself to a club or a sport: it means you work hard for it, for a long time. In fact, you can also devote your time, devote your work, and devote your energy to something: it means you spend your time, work, or energy on that important thing that you love and care about so much. You can also devote money to something, meaning you spend your money on it.
You can also be devoted to a person you love, or to a pet you love. If you're devoted to your family, it means you love them dearly, and you work hard to take care of them, or you spend a lot of time with them. If you're devoted to your cat, it means you love her very much, you spend time playing with her, and every day, you clean up after her and give her fresh food and water.
(Source)
Usually, you show your devotion to people and things by spending time and energy on them. But there are lots of ways to show your devotion. Some people show devotion by tattooing each other's names onto their skin. Tattoos don't wash off! They're strong and long-lasting. And devotion is a strong, long-lasting feeling.
5. The word that means "to understand how wonderful something is" is...
...
appreciate.
I Love My Dad
Day 2: Understand
Let's understand how these words connect to our book!
Listen to each question, and decide which answer choice is correct. You can check your answer by clicking "Show Answer." If you make a mistake, don't worry! Just listen to the question again, then try again.
1. Remember: a hobby is any fun way to spend your time by making, collecting, or playing with something.
(Source) In our book, the princesses share their hobbies with their dads. What does this mean?
A) It means that the princesses and their dads spend time together on painting, inventing, reading, and singing.
2. Remember: companions are people you like to spend time with. They're the people you eat with, the people you travel with, or the people you do activities with.
(Source) In our book, each girl has a special companion: her father. What does this mean?
B) It means that the girls love to hang out with their dads; they enjoy working and playing together.
3. Remember: if you're inventing something, you're coming up with it, or coming up with a way to make it work.
(Source) In our book, Belle and her father enjoy inventing things together. What does this mean?
B) It means that they enjoy hanging out in the workshop, using tools and materials to build cool new machines.
4. Remember: to appreciate something is to understand how valuable it is to you. And to appreciate a person is to feel thankful for them because they're valuable to you: they make your life better.
(Source)
In our book, the princesses appreciate their dads. What does this mean?
A) It means that the princesses love their dads for being silly, strong, kind, smart, and friendly.
5. Remember: to devote yourself to someone is to take care of them, do things for them, and stick by them, day after day, year after year.
(Source)
In our book, each dad is devoted to his daughter. What does this mean?
B) It means that the dads are happy to spend lots of time with their beloved daughters.
Finally, let's understand how these words can connect to other situations!
Listen as I describe each situation, and shout out the vocabulary word that comes to mind. You can check your answer by clicking "Show Answer." Remember, if you make a mistake, don't worry! Just listen again, then try again.
1. You enjoy feeding peanuts to the squirrels in your backyard, but you don't have time to do it every day. You gather a bunch of materials and tools, along with a sketchbook. You begin sketching out designs for a machine that will dispense peanuts to the squirrels every day, even if you aren't there. There's a word that starts with I that describes what you're doing. What's the word?
inventing
2. You'd like to make friends with the new kid in your class, so you ask, "What do you like to do after school? Besides homework, obviously?" She tells you how she's learning to play the piano, and how she's trying to collect all 50 US state quarters. There's a word that starts with H that describes what your new friend is talking about. What's the word?
hobbies
3. Ever since your dog was a tiny puppy, you've been by her side, petting her, feeding her, walking her, talking to her, playing with her, and carefully brushing the tangles out of her long fur. You'd do just about anything to keep her safe and happy. There's a word that starts with D that describes how you feel toward your dog. What's the word?
devoted
4. You arrive late to your school's cafeteria for lunch, and most of the seats are already taken. Where will you sit? You feel awkward as you walk past crowds of kids you don't know. Suddenly, you see your friend waving at you, and gesturing, saying "Hey, there you are! Come sit! We saved you a seat!" You relax, feeling happy and thankful that your friend is looking out for you. There's a word that starts with A that describes how you feel. What's the word?
appreciative
5. You love to spend time with your sister. Whether you're doing homework together, playing basketball together in the driveway, or just sprawling out in the living room together, being lazy and watching a movie, you love to be side by side with your sister. There's a word that starts with C that describes you and your sister. What's the word?
companions
I Love My Dad
Day 3: Illustrate
Grab some index cards, or open Quizlet.com. It's time to illustrate some flash cards!
If you're using index cards, write your word on the front, and on the back, write the definition and draw a picture: something that'll help you understand what the word means. If you're using Quizlet, simply add your words and definitions to your set, and choose any picture you like.
You can copy my definitions below, or you can write your own. And, you can use the pictures I've suggested, or pick your own.
When you're done illustrating your words, be sure to scroll down and tell me about the pictures you picked!
Term
Definition
Picture
hobby
an activity that you enjoy again and again
companion
a person you're with, or a person who's often at your side
invent
to come up with something brand-new
appreciate
to show or understand how wonderful something is
devote
to work long and hard on something because it's important to you
Tell me about your pictures!
Take your pictures one at a time, and tell me: what's in the picture, and how does it connect to the word? For example, let's say I just studied the word "frantic." I could write: "Mickey is throwing clothes into his suitcase as fast as he can. He's frantic because he's worried he'll be late."
For another example, let's say I just studied the word "triumphant." I could write: "The girl just won a contest, and she's holding a big trophy. That's why she's triumphant."
Let's see one more example! Let's say I just studied the word "dumbfounded." I could write: "This girl is dumbfounded because she sees a gigantic birthday cake that's taller than she is; now, she's so shocked that she doesn't know what to say." Maybe that's not REALLY what's happening, but it's okay to use your imagination!
I Love My Dad
Day 4: Apply
Today, you'll apply the vocabulary words to your own life! I'll help you write a sentence using each word that expresses your own thoughts, ideas, wishes, and experiences.
For each word below, write your own sentence. You can use either of the two ideas I'll suggest, or you can invent your own. Include as much detail as you can!
(Source) 1. Write a sentence with the word HOBBY:
Remember: a hobby is any fun way to spend your time by making, collecting, or playing with something.
Idea 1: "My favorite hobby is (doing something); I love it because (it's fun, peaceful, or exciting for some reason)."
Idea 2: "If you're really talented, a hobby you love can become a real job—for example, if you're very good at (doing something), then you could get paid for it."
(Source) 2. Write a sentence with the word COMPANION:
Remember: companions are people you like to spend time with. They're the people you eat with, the people you travel with, or the people you do activities with.
Idea 1: "I (like or don't like) having companions while I study, because (of some reason)."
Idea 2: "(In a certain book, or on a certain show), (the main character's) companions help with (doing something)."
(Source) 3. Write a sentence with the word INVENT:
Remember: If you're inventing something, you're coming up with it, or coming up with a way to make it work.
Idea 1: "Someday, I'll invent a way to (do something amazing)."
Idea 2: "Thank goodness that someone's already invented a (tool, product, or machine) that can (do something helpful)."
(Source) 4. Write a sentence with the word APPRECIATE:
Remember: to appreciate something is to understand how valuable it is to you. And to appreciate a person is to feel thankful for them because they're valuable to you: they make your life better.
Idea 1: "I like to stop and appreciate the wonderful little things in life, like the (smell, taste, or sound) of (something)."
Idea 2: "When (someone) (did something kind or helpful for me), I appreciated it."
(Source) 5. Write a sentence with the word DEVOTE:
Remember: to devote yourself to someone is to take care of them, do things for them, and stick by them, day after day, year after year. And to devote yourself to something is to work hard on it for a long time.
Idea 1: "If you really want to get good at (some game, sport, or skill), then you have to devote (a certain number of minutes or hours) to practicing it every day."
Idea 2: "I'm devoted to my (pet, friend, or family member), so we spend time together every day, (doing something)."
When you're ready, paste your sentences into the form below. Now is a good time to read your sentences out loud, and think, "Do I like my sentence? Does it sound good? Do I need to fix anything? Could I add any more details?"
I Love My Dad
Day 5: Free-Write
You've studied hard! Today, before you write, please take a few minutes to play with your flash cards.
Try looking at your pictures and recalling your words. Be sure to say them out loud! If your flash cards are in Quizlet, play the Match game.
When you feel comfortable with all your words, you're ready to write!
Pick one topic below:
Look through your flash card deck of all the words you’ve studied recently. First, which word in your deck best connects to the book I Love My Dad? How does it connect? Next, which word connects second-best, and how? Finally, which word totally does NOT connect to I Love My Dad, and why?
In our book, the characters enjoy their hobbies, like painting, inventing, reading, and singing. Tell me about a hobby of yours, or a hobby you might like to have sometime soon. What is this hobby, and why do you find it interesting? Is it easy or hard, and why? Is it calming or exciting, and why?
When you’re done with your draft, look through your flash card deck of all the words you’ve studied recently, and pick one word that could fit into your paragraph. Add it in.
Look through your flash card deck of all the words you’ve studied recently, and pick three words that seem fun or exciting. Imagine that you're visiting one of the families in this book. Use the three words you picked to tell me a story about how you help one of the princesses and her dad solve a problem. Maybe the three of you work together to fight off an enemy, reverse an evil spell, or find a magical object that went missing. Your story can be as realistic or imaginative as you like!
When you're all done, it's a good idea to take a little break! Come back later, and paste your first draft (above) into the box below.
Read your work out loud, and think, "Do I like this? Does it sound good? Do I need to fix anything? Could I add any more details?" Please try for three or more sentences.
When you're happy with your second draft below, click the Submit button.
Enroll in "Make Your Point, Jr." for one-on-one tutoring.
