Motherhood, English & Education

As a mother of two, wife of one and a cruciverbalist , I am rarely left wordless. The family will confirm that I am rarely at a loss for words, especially in “Mom” mode.  However, those rare moments when motherhood and life has rendered all my buttons pushed and left me grasping for words?  Especially if a blistering comment was delivered and my response was ideal, just later.  That predicament is my pet hate. There is a term for that.  “Staircase wit” or as the French call it L’esprit de l’escalier or l’esprit d’escalier.

A sensitive soul, preferring to give others the benefit of the doubt and prevent unnecessary hurt (honesty aside), my mental sarcastic riposte is admittedly, weak. Lady Astor once said to Winston Churchill, that if he were her husband, she would poison his tea. True to his moniker, “Winnie”, Winston replied in his usual fine, winning form, “If you were my wife, I’d drink it!” Classic and humorous.

My other debilitating hiccup, which we will not chalk to age, but more to an  increase/overflow of vocabulary to a weighty mental dictionary, are the words or names that are right there on the tip of my tongue, just momentarily elusive. An “ugh” moment for me.  For that too, there are terms which are :

Lethologica is “the inability to remember the right word.  A situation where an individual temporarily forgets key words.

Lethonomia is “the inability to recall the right name.” Cannot place that actress in that show?  Frustration ahead until that “Aha!” moment.

Both these terms are derived from the river Lethe in Hades in Greek mythology. It is said that this river causes forgetfulness of the past.

The ability to learn “A Word A Day” was taught to me by my late Dad. Wise words that I try to instil in my children.  Alas, I am met with a typical eye roll  from my teenage son, the daughter not so much.   Another nugget Dad imparted and stressed was the “importance and empowerment of Education, that which could never be taken away.”

Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.                    Kofi Annan

With profound relief,  I now embrace a new chapter of my life, a welcome reprieve as the kids are out of the schooling system.  Fortunately, they had a good foundation, largely absorbed by libraries (bliss!) and  technological input from the various educators/ tutors.  Again, the importance of education is paramount to the development of children, which is why,  when I stumbled across a goldmine of information, I simply had to share.

Education.com provides learning resources in over 20 countries and six continents.  Over 20,042,619 people have signed up as Education.com members. Every user is different, but they share the same goal to improve the lives of children through education and that, is exactly the help that us Moms need.  As much as I miss the bonding sessions, the smart remarks (even smarter now), I enjoyed my renewed foray into primary  basic education and  continue to recommend this medium.

The following varied, valued educational items can be sourced  :

• 20,000+ Worksheets & ANSWERS (thankfully!) Workbooks (Maze, Word search, Word search with images, Crossword puzzle, Word scramble, Maths literacy, Spelling Test, Matching words to images, Word Tracer)
• Digital Games and Exercises for Pre-K to 5th grade
• Step-by-Step Lessons across core math and reading skills
• Track your child’s progress in math & reading
• Kid-safe learning environment

As a working mom, I was able to assist with the language subjects but found myself stymied by the projects.  With Valentine’s Day approaching, look out for the craft projects, the Valentine Mobile is a winner. King and Queen of Hearts indeed!

Every parent is deserving of assistance and to all those, already inundated with life’s responsibilities, worthy assistance is necessary.