A Tough Life Lesson

While Marc & I were in New York, her Kindergarten class had a mock Spelling Bee.  The top 4 students from her class were asked to participate in the school Spelling Bee, which was yesterday.  And Kennedy was one of the four.  Go Kennedy, Go!

Her teacher, Mrs. Moses, gave her a list of spelling words, K-2nd grade, to practice before the Spelling Bee.  Grandpa & Grandma worked with her on them & I did as well after I got back from my trip.  

As we practiced, I noticed that she would just blurt out the spelling, realize she had spelled it wrong, and then change it to the correct spelling.  I let her know that during the Spelling Bee she would only have one chance to spell the word, so to really think about how the word is spelled before saying it out loud, to ensure her first answer was the right answer.

Rounds 1-4 went great.  The words were easy & she had no problems spelling them.  In round 5, her word was b-i-r-d.  She barely waited for the moderator to say the word in a sentence when she blurted out b-r-i-d.  As the moderator said she was sorry & that was the incorrect spelling of the word, you could see Kennedy's face drop as she realized what she had done.

After the Kindergarten round was finished, she got her ribbon & then came to see me.  And that is when the tears began. I assured her that she did great, and that I was very proud of her.  But the only thing she could say was but I knew how to spell the word bird!!!

And that is when I had to remind her what we talked about prior to the Spelling Bee.  How it is important to think about how the word is spelled before saying it, and unlike at home, you only get one chance to get the word right.  I told her that I know she was upset, but in next year's Spelling Bee she will remember what we talked about & what happened at this year's Spelling Bee, and she won't make the same mistake again.  And all she could say is but we won't be here next year!!!  

My poor baby.  I hope that whatever school she attends in Dallas has a Spelling Bee, so that she can experience another one, with hopefully a better ending.  Not for me. I was & still am super proud of how she did!  But for Kennedy's sake.  I know she was very upset with herself & wanted to do better!

I wanted to send a picture to Daddy since he was out of town & could not attend the Spelling Bee, to show him her ribbon & how well she did.  This picture just breaks my heart.  It's the I'm trying hard to smile but all I really want to do is keep crying picture.

Her Spelling Bee experience was a tough life lesson, that is for sure.  I hated to see her so upset.  And I can only pray that she learned something from all of this & it helps her in future life lessons...and future Spelling Bees too!

And I really pray that she kicks butte in next year's Spelling Bee!  And one thing is for certain.  She will never ever misspell the word b-i-r-d again!