House, Mouse, Louse, Spouse

At dinner last night we were talking about school. I was asking Rehm how his math test went, when his first spelling test was going to be, when he would bring home his spelling words, etc. His math test went well, it was review. His first spelling test is next week. He already has the list but his teacher hasn't told them to bring it home.

Me: So what are some of the words on the list?

Rehm: Well, one of them is "house."

Me: Is "mouse" also on the list? (I asked based on the fact that the spelling words seem to have a phonetic theme )

Rehm: No.

Michael: What about "louse?"

Rehm: No.

Michael: What about "spouse?"

Rehm: Noooo!

Michael: Do you know what a louse is?

Rehm: No.

Michael: It is the singular of lice. Just like mouse is the singular of mice.

We talked for a minute about how House and spouse do not follow this rule nor do dice or rice. Then Michael pipes up with, "if spouse followed this rule then its plural would would be spice!" And then he decided he should not expound on that observation any further.

Jenn