[BlogEntry] The line over the…… oh!

Yesterday my oldest, while waiting to be driven to school, is trying to explain to me that if you're spelling cats, you don't need to put the line over the s.

I have no idea what she's talking about. It doesn't help that I'm trying to clean the kitchen before running her out the door to school. She tells me, "That's ok, I'll think about how to better explain it to you."

As we're driving she explains, "If you're talking about the cat's whiskers you use the line, Daddy, but if you're talking about two cats, you don't."

"Oh!" I say as it dawns on me. "You're talking about the apostrophe!"

"Yeah," she says shakily, not really sure if that's the right word.

"So like if I said K's backpack I use the line above the S, but if I said there are two Ks in your class, I don't."

"Right, Daddy. That's what I meant."

"Ok, now I get it. Know what that's called? That's called possessive and plural."

"What?"

"Did I lose you?"

"Yeah, you lost me."

"Don't worry about it. Know where else you use the line? In contractions. Have you learned contractions yet?"

"Contr…..no."

I have to remember not to fill the child's brain up too fast.