Wow ! SHE CAME FOURTH !!!!!! - in the whole of the elementary school ! She even spelled the word psychoanalysis !!!!
What a trouper.... everyone was cheering for her, the little grade 3 student who isn't even 'allowed' to compete for another year :)
Well done Brooklyn - Mummy and Daddy are VERY proud of you !!!!
(& yes, we hid behind the wall for the entire thing.....)
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
ALL-SCHOOL SPELLING BEE !!!!
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEK......
The all-school spelling bee is today! I am seriously nervous. Not for Brooklyn because she's taken the pressure off herself by saying it doesn't matter so much. But I'm just nervous to be there. WHICH she doesn't know I will be, and Darrell is coming too. But we are hiding behind the wall so she doesn't know we're there. She specifically asked us not to come as that would make her nervous she said. I think she just wants to make it past the first round. Here's hoping! She DOES know how to spell aggrandizement.......... so there's hope ......... ;)
The all-school spelling bee is today! I am seriously nervous. Not for Brooklyn because she's taken the pressure off herself by saying it doesn't matter so much. But I'm just nervous to be there. WHICH she doesn't know I will be, and Darrell is coming too. But we are hiding behind the wall so she doesn't know we're there. She specifically asked us not to come as that would make her nervous she said. I think she just wants to make it past the first round. Here's hoping! She DOES know how to spell aggrandizement.......... so there's hope ......... ;)
Sunday, January 17, 2010
And How do you Spell That Word?
Last year Zachary won the Spelling Bee for his whole grade (after being top 3 for his class) and then went on to the all-school spelling bee. This year, Brooklyn - who is in grade 3 - asked her teacher if there were any way she could be included in the Grade 4 spelling bee (They don't start it until grade 4) to which her teacher replied that she thought it would be a good challenge for her. If the Grade 4 teachers agreed to it, Mrs. Harvie was going to allow Brooklyn to compete alongside the Grade 4's. Well, the Grade 4 teachers said she would have to get 50 out of 50 words correct because the top students in their classes each got 50 correct.
So one day in November, Zachary and I sat in the hallway while Mrs. Harvie gave Brooklyn a test of 50 words. Needless to say, Brooklyn got all 50 words correct which meant she would continue to compete against the top Grade 4 students from each class (3 from each class I believe). Zachary asked permission from his teacher to go watch and Mrs. Harvie brought the whole Grade 3 class to watch their classmate compete at a grade above herself.
Well wouldn't you know it? She tied for 1st place !!!! She said it was so funny, boys were bear-hugging each other every time she got a word right and she couldn't quite understand why. I just told her people like to cheer for the underdog! She was SOOOO excited. Last Year, Zachary won the same Grade 4 contest and made sure I was able to come and watch. This year, however, Brooklyn said she didn't want me to come watch as she thought she would be too nervous. And sure enough, she apparently cried at the beginning of the Bee as she was nervous about the words. But once it started she just took a breath after each word and thought very carefully before giving her answer.
So this Wednesday, a grade 3 student will compete in the All-School Spelling Bee. And the best thing is, she said she's not nervous or bothered about what happens in this one. Which is great because as I told her (Respectfully, of course), NO-ONE is expecting her to do very well so the pressure is off !!! (I may go and hide behind a wall so I can hear what's going on..... I know she'd want me there if she knew she would do well, but not if things go the other way!)
The best thing about this though, is that I'm extremely glad that my child has chosen to put herself in an uncomfortable situation, and is willing to challenge herself above what is normally expected of her, even if it makes her nervous or fearful. The best way to feel more and more comfortable in those kind of situations is to continue putting yourself out there!
So one day in November, Zachary and I sat in the hallway while Mrs. Harvie gave Brooklyn a test of 50 words. Needless to say, Brooklyn got all 50 words correct which meant she would continue to compete against the top Grade 4 students from each class (3 from each class I believe). Zachary asked permission from his teacher to go watch and Mrs. Harvie brought the whole Grade 3 class to watch their classmate compete at a grade above herself.
Well wouldn't you know it? She tied for 1st place !!!! She said it was so funny, boys were bear-hugging each other every time she got a word right and she couldn't quite understand why. I just told her people like to cheer for the underdog! She was SOOOO excited. Last Year, Zachary won the same Grade 4 contest and made sure I was able to come and watch. This year, however, Brooklyn said she didn't want me to come watch as she thought she would be too nervous. And sure enough, she apparently cried at the beginning of the Bee as she was nervous about the words. But once it started she just took a breath after each word and thought very carefully before giving her answer.
So this Wednesday, a grade 3 student will compete in the All-School Spelling Bee. And the best thing is, she said she's not nervous or bothered about what happens in this one. Which is great because as I told her (Respectfully, of course), NO-ONE is expecting her to do very well so the pressure is off !!! (I may go and hide behind a wall so I can hear what's going on..... I know she'd want me there if she knew she would do well, but not if things go the other way!)
The best thing about this though, is that I'm extremely glad that my child has chosen to put herself in an uncomfortable situation, and is willing to challenge herself above what is normally expected of her, even if it makes her nervous or fearful. The best way to feel more and more comfortable in those kind of situations is to continue putting yourself out there!
Monday, January 04, 2010
A Beautiful Reason to be Blogging
We all had a wonderful Christmas here at Chez-Richmond but I shall leave the December blogging for another post.
This post is all about the wonderful occurrence that happened last night at church. Brooklyn was baptized at Adore along with 11 other people and it was one of the most exciting evenings of my life!
It started about a year ago when Brooklyn asked if she could get baptized. I wasn't sure she was ready for it so to be honest with you so I kind of 'postponed' the thought for her. Then she later mentioned that her friend Hannah wanted to get baptized too. I wondered if this was a peer pressure or she-is-so-I-want-to-too kind of thing but after talking to Hannah's Dad we both realized that both girls were wanting to be baptized of their own choice. They also completely understood what it meant and were doing it for the right reasons. Doing it together, however, would help reduce some of the nervousness so it was planned that they would be baptized along with the others in last night's service at Adore.
It was amazing. Brooklyn was SO excited the whole day - "Only 7 more hours until I get baptized" she said around lunchtime. Soooooo precious !
When Andy (she wanted him to baptize her....ahhhh) brought her into the baptismal tank she was the first of only two children getting baptized and we could barely see her head ! She kept bobbing up and down, I think so that people could see her !!! Fortunately it was all filmed so we will be able to get the DVD and we watched it up on the screens. Unfortunately, however, it meant I took my photos of the screens and it turned out kind of fuzzy. I honestly could cry about that except for the fact that I know the DVD is on its way.
When asked why she wanted to be baptized Brooklyn read from a piece of paper she had prepared "Because I want to live for Jesus and want to tell others about Him"... AAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!! It was so beautiful - as soon as she came back out of the water we all clapped and cheered and hooted and hollered. Then Andy said "I think Mummy is excited!" so I stood up and waved at Brooklyn so that she could see us. Because truly, her head was barely visible above the tank !!! haha
I had stashed a whole bunch of Kleenex in my purse and I was sure I would need every single one of them. I cry at absolutely EVERYONE's baptism. I can't help it. It's so moving to see someone take a stand for Jesus in a public forum like that. But this time, I was so unbelievably excited all I could do was cheer and clap with the hugest grin on my face :)
It took me by surprise that I didn't need any tissues. But, when the baptisms were all over and worship continued again, our friend Kendal started singing "Hallelujah, Hallelujah, you are worthy, of all praise. Be high and lifted up, be high and lifted up, be high and lifted up.... Jesus" HALLELUJAH I absolutely lost it and cried throughout the whole song.
Jesus Be Glorified.
Amen.
This post is all about the wonderful occurrence that happened last night at church. Brooklyn was baptized at Adore along with 11 other people and it was one of the most exciting evenings of my life!
It started about a year ago when Brooklyn asked if she could get baptized. I wasn't sure she was ready for it so to be honest with you so I kind of 'postponed' the thought for her. Then she later mentioned that her friend Hannah wanted to get baptized too. I wondered if this was a peer pressure or she-is-so-I-want-to-too kind of thing but after talking to Hannah's Dad we both realized that both girls were wanting to be baptized of their own choice. They also completely understood what it meant and were doing it for the right reasons. Doing it together, however, would help reduce some of the nervousness so it was planned that they would be baptized along with the others in last night's service at Adore.
It was amazing. Brooklyn was SO excited the whole day - "Only 7 more hours until I get baptized" she said around lunchtime. Soooooo precious !
When Andy (she wanted him to baptize her....ahhhh) brought her into the baptismal tank she was the first of only two children getting baptized and we could barely see her head ! She kept bobbing up and down, I think so that people could see her !!! Fortunately it was all filmed so we will be able to get the DVD and we watched it up on the screens. Unfortunately, however, it meant I took my photos of the screens and it turned out kind of fuzzy. I honestly could cry about that except for the fact that I know the DVD is on its way.
When asked why she wanted to be baptized Brooklyn read from a piece of paper she had prepared "Because I want to live for Jesus and want to tell others about Him"... AAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!! It was so beautiful - as soon as she came back out of the water we all clapped and cheered and hooted and hollered. Then Andy said "I think Mummy is excited!" so I stood up and waved at Brooklyn so that she could see us. Because truly, her head was barely visible above the tank !!! haha
I had stashed a whole bunch of Kleenex in my purse and I was sure I would need every single one of them. I cry at absolutely EVERYONE's baptism. I can't help it. It's so moving to see someone take a stand for Jesus in a public forum like that. But this time, I was so unbelievably excited all I could do was cheer and clap with the hugest grin on my face :)
It took me by surprise that I didn't need any tissues. But, when the baptisms were all over and worship continued again, our friend Kendal started singing "Hallelujah, Hallelujah, you are worthy, of all praise. Be high and lifted up, be high and lifted up, be high and lifted up.... Jesus" HALLELUJAH I absolutely lost it and cried throughout the whole song.
Jesus Be Glorified.
Amen.
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