Spelling Bee and a birthday

Today, J participated in our local Christian homeschool group's annual Spelling Bee contest. It was first time for her so she was very nervous before the contest when we were at the church. First she said she is not participating next year but after she finished the contest, she said she do want to participate again next year. She did great and won 2nd place. The spelling bee list from the National Spelling Bee.

J actually got tripped up on a word she knew the very first time when I asked her at home, "careless" but she misspelled it as "c-a-r-e-s-s"on the stage. Actually she didn't even re-state the word yet and judge already said "incorrect". So technically, I could argue that since the speller can start over 1 time if they choose but I decided not to in hope to give J a little lesson and in hope she will want to work little harder next year. I think its ironic the word she misspelled is "careless" because she could be pretty careless.

Another thing is we got the list late as is and she would spend no more than 5 minutes/ day on the list and that consists of me asking her how to spell some words from the list. She also did not study the list this morning before the contest. So I think 2nd place is a good lesson for her though I'm not sure she cares all that much. :(

J is actually a very good speller but in my opinion lacks motivation. Its just like her math, she is good at math but does not like math so many times she just tries to get it done fast and over with. Sometimes, she would turn the paper only to have me discover she didn't do a single problem on the back yet (she knows she needs to do front/back) or she would get couple wrong because of careless mistakes and didn't check her work. Basically, if she check her work, she gets all the problems correct. I told her she can put a sticker on her paper if she completes all the problems correctly and so far it's been working.

For children who are in grades 5-8th, if they win today, they get to advance to the Regional, then to State and so on. Overall it was a great experience for J plus she got a great goodies bag and certificate award. :)


J at Spelling Bee Competition; she became more confident after about 5 words. She learned to say the word, spell the word, then say the word again; Down to the last two. Look at the other boy... sharply dressed and dressed to win. :) After we got there, J said she wished she wore a dress; should have thought that earlier.

J/Prime having fun at Elias' b-day party. Here the kids are in the basement playing musical chair and keep the balloon in the air. They had a lot of fun and I had a lot of fun watching them play. :) It was actually hilarious! J has 2 boys sit on her lap while playing musical chair. :-P Other kids were being very nice to Prime and give him extra chances at the musical chair but it was a tough battle!