Taylor Swift: Creating a Language Rich Environment

I am the mother of three girls between the ages of 11 and 15; as you might expect Taylor Swift is a VIP in my house. While I had always enjoyed her music, I became a true fan after attending the Eras Tour last summer. Last weeks release of her new album was an occasion for celebration (it also happened to be my daughter's birthday), and it has become the soundtrack to most of our days since then.

I was recently scrolling through Instagram and saw a post entitled "The Tortured Poets Department Dictionary." The creator went on to define many words featured on the new Taylor Swift album; words like revile, soliloquy, and fortnight. This sent me down a rabbithole, which brought me right back to Maria Montessori.

Dr. Montessori, with her understanding of the absorbent mind and sensitive period for language, stressed the importance of creating a language rich environment for children. This means speaking to children with the same language we use when we speak to adults. This means using correct, often scientific, vocabulary when describing things to children. And, at least in my house, this means celebrating Taylor Swift and her use of lyrics that sometimes require a dictionary.

Image credit: https://dailytrojan.com/2022/04/15/read-a-book-today-love-story-with-books/