Anyway, today was the day of the spelling bee semi-finals for each grade level. The kids have been anticipating this for weeks and suffice it to say, their nerves got the best of them.
For Grade 3, I was a judge that wrote down words to ensure that they spelled them correctly. The first few rounds they flew through, but then the harder words hit like a punch in the face. My kids started to make silly mistakes or forget to ask for a definition (especially for homonyms). They pressed through as best as they could until something surprising happened. Two of my mid-level spellers surpassed even my best ones.
There were a few times my jaw dropped because of some of the words they spelled. After and hour of grueling competition between these two spellers, Jonathan took the lead and respelled a misspelled word that his competitor got wrong. One word left, and if he spelled it right, he would be the winner. He did it! I was so proud of him!
We were given an hour break before Grade 6 was scheduled for their semi-final round. For this round, I was the reader who gave the words, vocalized definitions, and gave context clues in sentences. I have a group of excellent spellers and they pushed themselves into the high rounds before they started falling off the wagon.
The first girl out was stumped on a trick word (challet) - even though it probably didn't belong in that category. She was furious but was a good sport and kept from displaying a negative attitude.
I made a few mistakes as the reader. There was some chatting in the audience and I lost my focus. Instead of conferring with one of the judges, I said they were correct when they were wrong. The spellers didn't appreciate being pulled off the stage moments later because of my mistake. Thank goodness they are forgiving.
The spelling bee semi-finals proved to be successful in more ways than one. With the finals just around the corner, I will be practicing my listening skills and the kids their spelling skills. Good luck to all!
Until next time.
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