Dictionary courtesy of OpenClipart.org/johnny_automatic

The Elementrees’ third grade teacher, Ms. Applewood, gave them an interesting assignment. She asked everyone to do a dictionary dip.

“I would like you all to do a dictionary dip,” she said. “How do you do a dictionary dip? Well, you take a dictionary in your hands, close your eyes, open the book to anywhere you want, and then point to somewhere on the page. Then you open your eyes and see what the word is. Often you will be surprised because it may be a special word from the Universe just for you!”

“What’s the point of this dictionary dip, Ms. Applewood?” Tommy Tomorrow asked.

“To expand your vocabulary,” Ms. Applewood answered.

“Our parents can barely afford a cab, much less a limousine,” he said.

The Elementrees could not wait to try this assignment at home. What words could the Universe have for them?

After school, back at Amy’s backyard, the Elementrees shared one dictionary to each do a dictionary dip. They used the American Heritage Dictionary.

Pete Moss ended up pointing to the word sedimentary. Sedimentary means rocks that are “formed from sediment or from transported fragments deposited in water.” He was so happy he picked a word involving nature.

Amy Lockhart picked the word autodidact. Autodidact is “a person who is self taught.”

Tommy Tomorrow picked the word teem, but this was not the usual team. It was spelled with two E’s. Teem meant “to be full of, to give birth to, to pour out or empty.” Tommy thought this word sounded like it had a lot to do with outer space because the Universe appeared full and empty and it was always giving birth to new stars.

Brenda Books pointed to the word wave. Wave had a bunch of different meanings. It meant everything from being “a member of the women’s reserve of the U.S. Navy”, to “flutter”, “a moving curve”, “a shape”, “a disturbance”, “a swell moving along the surface of water.” Brenda waved off the word wave and went back to reading her book.

Cynthia Buttons’ word was blepharospasm. This meant “uncontrollable winking caused by the involuntary contraction of an eyelid muscle.” Cynthia did like to wink sometimes and she was thankful she knew when to stop and was able to stop.

Brian Glass chose the word totter. He knew all about this word at his towering height of five feet. Totter meant “to sway as if about to fall, to appear about to collapse, to walk unsteadily.”

Bobby Bishop picked the word disassemble. This meant “to take apart.” He did this every time he took down his opponent’s chess fleet, one by one.

Trudy Jones picked the word verisimilitude. This meant “the quality of appearing to be true or real.” Trudy knew her friendship with Amy and the Elementrees was real. Other things, she was not so sure about.

Cleo Redding picked the word corona. This word meant “a crownlike upper part of a structure,” amongst other things. She loved this word because it reminded her of Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt, who she was named after.

Abigail Abacus picked a water chestnut, which is a “floating aquatic plant used in Asian cooking.” She could not see this word having anything to do with her favorite subject math, but it did have to do with boating. This water chestnut was like a plant and boat in one. She had boating on her vision board, so maybe this meant she was on the right path to reaching her goal.

All the Elementrees learned some new words and extra meanings of words from this experience. They also learned about how what they think about appears to show up more and more in their lives in unexpected places, even in a dictionary dip. Was it just a coincidence? Or was the Universe really listening and speaking to them down to the smallest details?

Question: Do a dictionary dip. What word did you get? Does it have any special meaning for you? You can leave a comment by clicking here.