California Words Project begins dictionary giveaways

We had our first and second dictionary give aways this past Monday & Tuesday March 28th & 29th. They both went very, very well. I also wanted to mention what I do through the power of words. I am teaching, developing, and working on the educational/mentoring aspect of our nonprofit’s work. It’s all under The California Words Project banner. I teach the program at a local Boys and Girls club in south Los Angeles called the Challengers Boys and Girls club. Utilizing dictionaries, thesauruses, and principles-based teaching such as The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens, I teach the teenagers about the first word they learn: spirit. I teach them to appreciate their unique spirits, gifts and abilities. I then work with them to develop a word-rich vocabulary that best expresses these innate truths. The words help them to perceive themselves much more positively because each word has a different range of meaning, and, at times, I’ve found the kids literally a little giddy as they explore themselves through this process. It’s a work in progress, but I wanted to mention it because (1)observing its effect on the kids (2) having a few conversations with parents at the giveaways, and (3) my own life’s experience is bearing out the fact that we need to be providing vocabulary enrichment resources such as dictionaries, etc., for our children from birth! I was so excited by the energy of the kids. We really appreciate the gifts from The Dictionary Project.