Spellcheck

This morning, Faith was writing something and wanted to know how to spell the word "wedding."  I have been trying to get into a version of the annoying habit adopted by my elementary school teachers: Instead of just telling us when someone asked how to spell something, they would tell us to go to the dictionary and look it up.  (To which the response was: If I knew how to find it in the dictionary, I'd know how to spell it.)

I haven't introduced the dictionary as spelling tool to Faith yet (although I probably should have), but I try, instead of just spelling something for her, to ask her how she thinks it's spelled, which makes her stop and sound it out.  Takes longer for me, of course, because then I have to listen to her and tell her wrong or right.  (Yeah, definitely should introduce a dictionary.)  So I asked her how she thought "wedding" was spelled. 

While she was still trying  to get past W-E-D-, Eric ran to his room.  I didn't pay any attention; I just assumed he was playing or going to get a toy or something.  But then, while Faith was still trying to figure out the correct spelling, he came out with A Kiss for Little Bear, opened up to the page where the Skunks get married, and read out, "W-E-D-D-I-N-G."

Honestly, I think I was more impressed that he had remembered reading that word in that particular book and was able to find it so quickly than if he had simply known how to spell the word on his own.