A few weeks ago, Luigi (in 3rd grade) said that he wanted to compete in his elementary school’s spelling bee. His brothers never participated, so this was uncharted territory for our family. When I was in third grade, my teacher divided us into three teams for a spelling competition, but it definitely wasn't an official spelling bee. I remember spelling the word "usually" correctly. The only problem was that the word was usual, not usually, so I was eliminated. My team lost. That was the extent of our spelling bee experience except for watching Akeelah and the Bee (when Keke Palmer was a kid!) several years ago.
A few days before the bee, we realized that maybe we should ask Luigi some words for practice from the school spelling bee study list. Mixed results. Luigi also decided that he wanted to write his words out first which is definitely not permitted in the bee. The day before the event, I figured I should probably review the rules. They are super intense! I realized that the televised Scripps National Spelling Bee championship has specific procedures, but this is a junior bee for grades K-3! And yes, you cannot write words out first!
We arrived at his elementary school for registration, and then Luigi went into the cafeteria. Besides the contestants, the only adults permitted in the cafeteria were the judges and a few volunteers. Parents and other family members were banished to the library in a completely separate part of the school where we could watch the bee on a screen via Zoom. There is a separate bee for kids in 4th through 6th grades in a few weeks, and the winner of the junior bee gets an entry into the "senior" competition.
Initially, it was a little awkward sitting with everyone waiting for the bee to begin. Our kids were competing against each other! Once the bee began, the room became more relaxed, particularly since kindergartners were the first kids to answer. We were supportive of the kids, but we also bonded on the spotty Zoom link. At one point, we thought the word was happy. When the announcer spelled the word T-A-F-F-Y, we all laughed and said taffy out loud like we were in the audience of Family Feud when they show the answers on the board.
We arrived at his elementary school for registration, and then Luigi went into the cafeteria. Besides the contestants, the only adults permitted in the cafeteria were the judges and a few volunteers. Parents and other family members were banished to the library in a completely separate part of the school where we could watch the bee on a screen via Zoom. There is a separate bee for kids in 4th through 6th grades in a few weeks, and the winner of the junior bee gets an entry into the "senior" competition.
Initially, it was a little awkward sitting with everyone waiting for the bee to begin. Our kids were competing against each other! Once the bee began, the room became more relaxed, particularly since kindergartners were the first kids to answer. We were supportive of the kids, but we also bonded on the spotty Zoom link. At one point, we thought the word was happy. When the announcer spelled the word T-A-F-F-Y, we all laughed and said taffy out loud like we were in the audience of Family Feud when they show the answers on the board.
As for Luigi, his word was hoist. He spelled it h-u-i-s-t and was eliminated in the first round. I think he's going to remember the spelling of that word now! The words immediately before and after his were baffling and remind. He said that he knew both of those.
Luigi wasn't at all discouraged by his early exit. About half of the 47 kids were eliminated in the first round, and we were able to watch the rest of the bee at home. He was happy that a friend won and said that he wants to try again next year. Sounds g-o-o-d to me!
Luigi wasn't at all discouraged by his early exit. About half of the 47 kids were eliminated in the first round, and we were able to watch the rest of the bee at home. He was happy that a friend won and said that he wants to try again next year. Sounds g-o-o-d to me!
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