My now-teenage daughter wrote this when she was 6, almost two years before she knew how to read.

Invented spelling is a THING, y'all.

This child is growing up to have impeccable grammar and spelling, and reads and writes more prolifically (and with more enjoyment) than any schooled child I've met.

At 18, she has yet to have a single grammar or spelling lesson.

She wrote this poem in her notebook, in all-caps, with no spaces, when she was six years old.

She also read it out loud to us, which helped me to understand her invented spelling and copy it here:

Haw doo you no me (How do you know me?)

evre weck. (Every week)

i go and se the. (I go and see the)

wrld awt ther. (world out there.)

hawil you se (How will you see)

the wae i no (the way I know?)

hw wil you se (How will you see)

the wrld awt ther (the world out there?)

Deep philosophical things spring up from a child's mind, especially in the absence of rote memorization, formal lessons, and schooling.

We have always had “magnetic poetry”, and often read out loud. Children will mimic their surroundings, after all.

Share