Pure Insanity

"... the English alphabet is pure insanity...", "It can hardly spell any word in the language with any degree of certainty."

- Mark Twain

Thing 1 just participated in the school spelling bee ... she was so cute and excited before it started. This is my first spelling bee I have attended, and it was a bit nerve-racking! I would hold my breath as each student started the word, and then wait with baited breath until the last letter was pronounced. If they were right, my heart would race until they were at the end. If they got it wrong, it was so hard to sit there with a poker face and wait it out! Anyhow, I was surprised at how suspenseful it was and how much I wanted each and every kid to win!

As for Thing 1 - she did great! She got out on the 2nd round with the word prejudice, which I find quite ironic. But, 2/3 of the kids were out that round -it was a tough one. She didn't seem to mind too much either. She sat by her friend and they silently cheered on their other friend who ended up getting 3rd place.

That quote from Mark Twain got me thinking about how fun spelling bees are in the English language. I am fairly fluent in Spanish, and the thing about that language is that it really is kind of a "What you see is what you get" language. It is consistent and clear, a very easy language to learn. English, on the other hand, gives you many, many options as to how to spell a certain sound - there could be 3 or more different ways. So, a spelling bee in a language like Spanish probably isn't as challenging. I'm not trying to dog on any language ... I'm just realizing how crazy English can be, but how that provides for some pretty exciting spelling bees.

And, I'm looking forward to more in the future.

I guess we'll study next time.

And, I'll make Thing 1 read "Pride and Prejudice" over the summer!

ha ha