Packsacks

When I first got up here, I heard my kids calling backpacks "packsacks."  It makes sense if you think about it.  It is a sack that you pack stuff around in.  Added to that is the habit that women have of carrying their babies on their backs inside their coats (using the coat and/or an extra scarf to hold the baby in place) - they call it "packing," as in, "I was packing baby."  So, to have something on your back is like "packing" a baby, except it's a sack.  Hence, the term "packsack."  Not all the kids (and adults) called them that, but I've heard it often over the past couple of years. 

Just when I thought I'd gotten their linguistic choices pretty much figured out, my kids topped themselves.

As they were getting in line for recess this morning, they started arguing amongst themselves about whether it was "backpack" or "backsack."  Really.  Most of the class was sure that it was "backpack," because one of our green words in our story for this week is "backpack."  (Green words are words that are able to be sounded out, as opposed to red words, which have to just be memorized.)  They'd been seeing this word all week in print and were starting to comprehend it.  There was one girl who was sticking to her guns, though.  She's in a different reading class, so she hadn't read our book in awhile.  She was convinced that it was "backsack."  It was pretty much the class vs. her.  Everyone was telling her that it was "backpack," but she very eloquently refuted them all by saying, "It's on your back and it's a sack.  So, it's a backsack."  It was the way she said it that made the incident memorable.  She was so matter-of-fact, yet indignant.  It was starting to look like a brawl was about to break out, so I decided to end the argument by reminding them that we'd go to the gym as soon as they were quiet.