(This is not to say Fern can’t spell. She’s right on target for her age – which is a young 7 – what do you want from the kid?!)
Welcome to the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee!
A look at parenting three daughters ages 6, 7, and 10 years.
The Three
My three daughters Bette, Fern, and Deena
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Spelling Class
At school Deena is learning to sound out words for spelling and reading. She came up to me while I was washing dishes the other day and said “Mommy, circus starts with a ‘c’.” Then she gave me a perplexed look. I replied with “Yes dear. The letters c and s are friends and they can share the ssss sound sometimes.” Fern, who works very hard on her spelling, looked at me with one eyebrow raised and her nose wrinkled. To which I said to Fern “Wow, that’s confusing. No wonder it’s so hard to spell sometimes huh?” Fern, true to her fashion, waved her hand in the air and said “No kidding!” and walked away in a huff. Someone seems a little perturbed with the English language.
(This is not to say Fern can’t spell. She’s right on target for her age – which is a young 7 – what do you want from the kid?!)
Welcome to the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee!
(This is not to say Fern can’t spell. She’s right on target for her age – which is a young 7 – what do you want from the kid?!)
Welcome to the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee!
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Sometimes, I teach English to friends and it's virtually impossible to get some adults to accept the fact that certain words are not spelled the way they "should be". Logic is all too important in our culture and if something is illogical we can't accept it. Some people can't. Children are not bound by this type of conditioning, they just accept that circus is with a 'c' and move on. Lesson learned.
ReplyDeleteWhat is funny is that as an adult I also noticed this weird phenomenon that I randomly forget the spelling of everyday words. Just today I was in the process of writing a hub, and for the life of me I couldn't get myself to write the word 'road'. I wrote 'rode' and I knew it was wrong, but - and you will laugh - I had to take a thesaurus and look up 'street' and find the spelling of 'road' among the synonyms...
Kids accept much more than adults - they aren't set in their ways yet and don't question as often. Unless you get one like Bette who questions every single thing.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny you would bring up forgetting road! I just read a most fascinating article about something similar called jamais vu and forgetting once familiar words. I'll always remember how odd it was to not know how to spell porch one day...very frustrating that my brain wouldnt work right.
I'm guessing she does that out of curiosity and not to annoy you. At least, not yet. I mean, the question "Mommy, were dinosaurs still alive when you were a child?" has a completely different meaning coming from a 5-year-old, then when it's coming from a 10-year-old.
ReplyDeleteAs for forgetting to spell plain words, yes, it's call a jamais vu experience. I only know, because I have written a hub about it.
I didnt mean to imply she does it to annoy me. She is a very inquisitive child and I love it. The remark I made about jamais vu was because I read YOUR hub about it :) I thought it was very interesting since we call that a senior moment here...because old people forget things I guess!
ReplyDeleteOh I know you didn't. I was kind of kidding. You are so blessed with these kids! I would give everything to have just 1 daughter, which will probably never happen as all the kids in our family are born boys.
ReplyDeleteAnd you're old when you think you're old. Yesterday, I saw a report on Hetty Bower, a 106-year-old woman who's actively campaigning for social justice. Such an inspiration! I think it's sad how my parents in their 50s consider themselves old. And you and I are definitely not. :):)
I am lucky, huh? I always wanted daughters too - ever since before I was even a teenager. You do know it all comes down to the man you marry right? Women only carry the gene to make a girl baby. The man carries both genes necessary to make a boy baby.
ReplyDeleteI will have to look up Miss Hetty's report today, 106 and still sharp as a tack. I know Im not old. I act more like a kid now than I ever did, thanks to my own kids. 50 isnt old either so you better get to work on those parents and set them straight!
I didn't really think about it this way. I guess you married the right man, then. I wouldn't like to marry a man, because I am a man. And now I know that it's all up to my genes... I have a brother and 9 male cousins and my cousins all have boys. My uncle was all about having a girl, he married 3 women (not for that purpose) who gave birth to three boys. All I hear is that guys want boys. Well, that's not true for me. At least, I have only myself to blame. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I'll get started on setting my parents straight as soon as I've finished setting myself straight.
You wanted kids that early? So maybe your oldest is already dreaming about having a daughter too when she's a grown-up. :)
First things first, my daughters better NOT be thinking about babies yet! Actually Bette always says she never wants kids. She's watched me struggle sometimes and I think that turns her off to the idea. Plus she's heard it hurts and she doesnt want anything to do with that :)
ReplyDeleteWhy do you want a daughter so bad? I know MY reasons for wanting girls, but I am a girl!
Most of my friends are women. I'm not someone who can hang out with his buddies and drink beer and watch sports and talk about chicks and stuff. I don't even know what guys do together! Beside being more comfortable around women, I also think more highly of them. And that's an understatement.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I don't think I will ever have kids, because I don't think I ever want to be in a committed relationship again. I am heartbroken. I lost much of who I was. I just wanna be away from all this!!
Will you say your reasons for wanting girls?
Women make great friends! I should know, I have some :) You are younger than me, right? You will have time to heal and move on. Lots of people in the states dont have kids until their 40's.
ReplyDeleteI wanted daughters because I always babysat little girls and I always wanted a sister. I had a stinky brother and I knew how gross boys could be - I didnt want any part of that.
You might as well be right. It is much better than a year ago. And I'm much younger than you! There's a tremendous age difference of 3 years between us.
ReplyDeleteI can see why your stinky brat of a brother would put you off back then. I think a lot of women hold a grudge against their brothers even when they are grown-ups. I'm not saying that you do, only this is my experience.
I've read a book entitled 'The Female Brain' and there's lots of research to suggest that it's better for a girl to grow up with a sister than with a brother. Do your kids get on well? When it comes to just the three of them, I bette, there is a leader. :)
My horrible brother would hold me down and flatulate (Im not sure if this is a real word) on me when I was little...I was NOT about to raise a boy. But I do miss my brother a ton. He's out to sea right now :(
ReplyDeleteWhat would cause you to read such a book as The Female Brain?! Dont they have better reading than that in your neck of the woods? No wonder you like my writing.
The girls get along great. Bette is for sure the leader. (I love the play on words.) I love watching them together.
What?! That's the most disgusting thing I've read in a long time. I can't imagine his not regretting having done that. Kids do mean stuff to one another that they regret later as adults. Girls too. I can remember the things that happened at primary school pretty clearly. We acted like fully fledged citizens in our own little society. I will never forget or forgive myself the things that I said to my little brother, because I had a crush on one of our teachers.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, your writing is way better than that book was. When I picked it up, there was an old lady who crossed my path to the counter, took it out of my hand and said something along the lines of 'Son, you can do better than that.' I bought it nonetheless. Women love to read such books. In my neck of the woods they do. There is something called the Male Brain by the same author. Now, I would never even think of reading that. Why would I read about my own brain? From a sexist perspective at that.
I'm glad that the kids get along great. The friend I told you about. She sent me pics that she took of her daughters playing together. The loveliest sight! They are about the same age as yours. They actually have chickens too. Too bad you live in different parts of the country.
Wait, you have a blog and never told me about it?! That is so one-sided. Anyways, my brother does feel bad for stuff he did as a kid and so do I :) Forgive yourself for what you did to your brother...who knows if he even remembers it today.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the nice things you say about my writing. Im still coming into my own with it. I'd never read a book trying to understand the opposite sex...it's useless and understanding will never be found in my opinion.
I havent seen anything new written from your friend, does she still hub? I'm jealous of her chickens. I'd love to have chickens and goats one day. I love Cheryl McRae on Facebook and HubPages, she's TOO funny and I bet you'd like her.
I just started that blog not long ago and don't write frequently. Also, it's Hungarian and is about speculations about the future of the EU. Of course, you are free to read it if you want to. :)
ReplyDeleteI thought you might take that position regarding whether you can understand the opposite sex. I agree to some extent, as I have read things that I think do more harm than good.
My friend doesn't hub as frequently any more. She used to write the most beautiful, picturesque prose that I've read on HP. Her hubname was Justine. Thanks for Cheryl McRae. I friended her on FB and waiting for an approval. I suggested you Dolores Monet yesterday, because she's the one with the redhead kids. I don't think she has pics on FB any more, but she does in her hubs.
I read your blog...sorta :) The tanslate option isnt real precise.
ReplyDeleteI loved hearing from Dolores, she seems like a doll. But I didnt make it to her hubs yet. Yet being the key word. Im so far behind on my reading.