"What else starts with a...?"

So, Chica's interest in letters and the words they form has skyrocketed over the past few weeks.

I have no doubt her Pre-K work has influenced this interest, but I also believe she's just at a golden age developmentally.

And I'd like to believe I try my best to foster that development on the home front--even if it results in a new, never-ending game that has me wracking my brain all day.

The gist: Chica picks a letter and we think of all the words (like, all of them in the whole, wide world) that start with that letter. And every time (and I do mean every, single time) we think of a word, she repeats the phrase, "and what else starts with an (insert letter of choice)?"

My girl is nothing if not habitual.

Her current favorite is "P." Because she gets to say silly words like "poo" and "potty" and "panties" and that's just the best ever for her. But we're slowly working our way through the letters, and now, even when we're not playing the game, I find myself mentally tracking every, single word that comes to mind of a certain letter, ha.

Oh well, the hazards of educating ;)

The other thing we've been enjoying is this set of word puzzles that I bust out if she's not napping on a given day. I free her early from her quiet time in her room while the other two are snoozing, and she thinks it's pretty dang nifty to tiptoe downstairs and snuggle on my bed and work on the puzzles.

It's special time, and also productive. So, win/win.

I'm going to look for a couple of those beginning reader books at the store. You know, the kind that have simple, three-word sentences. 'Cause I think my girl is ready for that challenge.

And now, for a final bit of cuteness tonight: my Little Man and Chicklet loving up on one another, like they do so much these days (when they're not beating up on one another, ha).

Love my babies.

And I love the Fall--even if it's still so darn hot!

Night, peeps.