My son Levi represented his school today in the county spelling bee. He did a great job, finishing in 2nd place overall out of 26 4th graders. Levi correctly spelled well over a dozen words, including "examples", "probably", and "graffiti" before misspelling "manure." He spelled it "manuer."
This is humorous as Levi comes from a dairy farming heritage, his grandfather worked a large dairy farm which 2 of his uncles still run.
Levi also comes from a great spelling heritage, with several uncles, aunts, and his father having participated in this same county spelling bee. One of the first, uncle Dick, missed the word "license." Levi's grandmother has made it her duty to make sure that whenever another of her kids or grandkids enter a spell-down, they know how to spell "license" if nothing else.
Likewise I made sure he would not miss the first word I ever missed in the county spelling bee, "buried." I clearly remember several other students missing it by starting with "ba" or "be" or even using a "y", but I misspelled it with 2 r's, "burried."
Levi's accomplishment today was much better than my best showing, I don't recall ever even making the top 10.
Many of the most challenging words today were compound words where the kids had to decide if it was a single word, 2 words, or a hyphenated word: "slam-dunked", "air conditioning", "flagpole", "eyesore", and "old-fashioned" were among the tricky words. The hardest word I heard was "Peace Corps" but Levi said he would have gotten that one correct.
Great job Levi!
Monday, March 26, 2007
Family Life
We got included in this weeks Family Life Carnival over at More4Kids. There are some great posts over there, be sure to read a few.
Interestingly, we went to Michael's Crafts again this weekend and it was a free day sponsored by Crayola!
Interestingly, we went to Michael's Crafts again this weekend and it was a free day sponsored by Crayola!
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Carnival Of Frugality
For some money-saving tips, check out the latest edition of the Carnival Of Frugality.
Especially don't miss the Entertainment & Hobbies section.
Especially don't miss the Entertainment & Hobbies section.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
She's Crafty
We did something today that is one of my favorite things to do with my kids. We went to Kids Club at Michael's Crafts.
Our Michael's has this every Saturday and for just $2 each, the kids get to make a fun craft project. Since today was St. Patrick's Day, the craft was to make a green shamrock pin.
They bent a green pipe-cleaner into a J for the stem and glued it to the back of a small wooden heart. Then 3 more wooden hearts were put together to shape a clover and glued to the base heart.
They then got to paint their clovers and coat them with glitter. Finally they glued a small pin to the back.
I really think this is a great program. It doesn't cost much, some weeks are even free! They do a variety of projects, and there is no mess at home to clean up. My kids and I have been doing this for at least 4 years, and they really enjoy it, especially Bess.
It's difficult now since we are involved with soccer and basketball and have games almost every Saturday, but whenever we can we try to fit craft day into our schedule. Now that I am remarried, I often have as many as 5 kids with me from ages 6-9, and they usually all enjoy the craft project.
Our Michael's has this every Saturday and for just $2 each, the kids get to make a fun craft project. Since today was St. Patrick's Day, the craft was to make a green shamrock pin.
They bent a green pipe-cleaner into a J for the stem and glued it to the back of a small wooden heart. Then 3 more wooden hearts were put together to shape a clover and glued to the base heart.
They then got to paint their clovers and coat them with glitter. Finally they glued a small pin to the back.
I really think this is a great program. It doesn't cost much, some weeks are even free! They do a variety of projects, and there is no mess at home to clean up. My kids and I have been doing this for at least 4 years, and they really enjoy it, especially Bess.
It's difficult now since we are involved with soccer and basketball and have games almost every Saturday, but whenever we can we try to fit craft day into our schedule. Now that I am remarried, I often have as many as 5 kids with me from ages 6-9, and they usually all enjoy the craft project.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Pizza Blog Hosts Contest
My other blog, Pizza Delivery Stories, is hosting a free basketball contest for the ESPN Tournament Challenge. Check it out!
Monday, March 12, 2007
Rec Olympics
I took the kids back to their Mom's community today so that they could participate in the "Rec Olympics."
Stepson Nolan came along and participated also.
The kids all did really great! Rae was in with a big group of boys and girls age 6 and they only had 3 events: Obstacle Course, Long Jump, and 60 meter run. Rae had fun and earned a participation ribbon.
Levi and Nolan were in a group of about 15 boys ages 9-10. They are both 9. There was a kid named Seth that won 4 of their 5 events. The only person to beat him at all was Nolan who took 1st in the swimming event. Levi placed 3rd in swimming and 2nd in the Long Jump. Nolan also finished 3rd in the obstacle course. I don't think any other boy in their group earned more than 1 ribbon.
They also participated in the 60 meter run and a basketball shooting competition, but the rims were lowered to 8 feet and both boys are used to shooting at regulation 10 foot rims so the lower height messed them up.
Bess was really the star of the day, finishing 1st in 3 events among girls 7-8. Bess won the swimming race, the obstacle course, and she must have beaten all the other girls by about 2 feet in the long jump.
It was a nice day, inexpensive (only $7 per kid and they got a t-shirt). It cost even less for me as their mother signed them up! The kids got some exercise and we all had fun!
Stepson Nolan came along and participated also.
The kids all did really great! Rae was in with a big group of boys and girls age 6 and they only had 3 events: Obstacle Course, Long Jump, and 60 meter run. Rae had fun and earned a participation ribbon.
Levi and Nolan were in a group of about 15 boys ages 9-10. They are both 9. There was a kid named Seth that won 4 of their 5 events. The only person to beat him at all was Nolan who took 1st in the swimming event. Levi placed 3rd in swimming and 2nd in the Long Jump. Nolan also finished 3rd in the obstacle course. I don't think any other boy in their group earned more than 1 ribbon.
They also participated in the 60 meter run and a basketball shooting competition, but the rims were lowered to 8 feet and both boys are used to shooting at regulation 10 foot rims so the lower height messed them up.
Bess was really the star of the day, finishing 1st in 3 events among girls 7-8. Bess won the swimming race, the obstacle course, and she must have beaten all the other girls by about 2 feet in the long jump.
It was a nice day, inexpensive (only $7 per kid and they got a t-shirt). It cost even less for me as their mother signed them up! The kids got some exercise and we all had fun!
Friday, March 9, 2007
Vote For Me!
Local Girl at An Island Life is having a photo contest. Please check it out and vote for me, WeekendsWithDad, if you are so inclined.
Thanks!
Thanks!
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