Undone by apartheid

Susannah made it through the first round by spelling wanton. The very first word of that round was ballerina and the second word was giraffe, so I was thinking she'd have a good chance of making it through. Susannah was number 143 out of 154 and the words got progressively harder as the round went on, it seemed, so I got a little nervous about what her word would be. But she got one she could spell, thankfully.

Second round she wasn't so lucky. The 'pronouncer' said apartheid like apart-ate, which is one way to say it. In my head, I urged Susannah to ask for any alternative pronunciations, but she didn't. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have spelled it right either way, but she was frustrated because she didn't 'hear' it right.

There were tons of 'foreign' words in the second round; that surprised me. I had fun trying to spell the words and even learned a couple of new ones today. What made me happiest, besides being so proud of Susannah, was knowing that Susannah had a great time even though she didn't make it past the second round. And, Susannah is motivated to learn more spelling 'tricks' and to try to get to the state bee next year too.

6:30 AM

It's early. Really early.

Off to the Spelling Bee!

Buzz Buzz

Tomorrow is the state Spelling Bee. Susannah is getting excited and nervous and I'd really appreciate prayers for her tomorrow.

For a calm, centered mind.
For confidence.
For good health and great sleep tonight.
For her to meet any goals she may have set for herself.

Oh, and for us to hear our alarms since we have to be on the road by 6:45 AM!

Thanks!

S-T-E-T-H-O-S-C-O-P-E

That is Susannah's winning word for the Girdwood School spelling bee today. She has been a class 'representative' for the last three years and this year won for the elementary grades (3-6). Susannah will be competing on March 4 in the state-wide Bee in Anchorage, so she has a month or so to try to learn to spell all sorts of words. If you have any great lists of hard words for her to learn, send them our way!

Moriah took third place, missing the word renovate. She was pretty nervous before the school bee (the first time she's been in it) and was pleased with how well she did. Both girls are quite good spellers and have out-spelled their older brother for the last several years. Samuel is a great reader and has a huge vocabulary...he just can't spell some of the big words he uses. Or some of the small ones.

Now for a walk down memory lane...I too was a good speller (still am I suppose). I won the spelling bee at my school when I was in sixth grade and competed in the county bee. My glory was short-lived, however, when I was given the word flivver. Do you know what it means? Neither did I (click the link to see!). It rhymed with river, so I spelled it with one 'v'. Buzz! Wrong! It was fun while it lasted.