Josh made the Top 3 at this year’s Regional Spelling Bee

Us with our little spelling champ

Us with our little spelling champ

It’s been a busy few weeks since this year’s District Spelling Bee, hosted by the Greater Hightstown Juniorettes. Josh had been studying for a few weeks now, and we’ve been quizzing him when we could. Last year, the New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs of GFWC had skipped hosting their Regional, and went straight to the State-level competition. Since we had a better idea what to expect this year (compared to last year), we were simply happy that Josh made it this far. It was pretty tricky for a 4th grader like him performing against the older 5th grade kids last year, and we weren’t nuts this year either. We only wanted him to try his best, and see how it all went down. He’s not going to be on ESPN any time soon, but we want him to continue to learn that working hard can potentially result in good things happening

I had a church meeting this morning, so I raced to the NJSFWC hall separately. By the time I got there around 2:15 pm, they were well into the practice round. Instead of 40+ kids (like last year), there were only 12 kids. Regional, sure, but I was surprised nonetheless. Nerve-wracking still, kids started dropping out after a few rounds. All of a sudden, Josh was still sitting there in the top 4. Would he make the Top 3? One girl spelled her word wrong, and Josh was in the Top 3, then the top 2.

I assume it’s because he doesn’t do laundry in our house, he was tripped up by “detergent.” No matter. He placed 2nd overall (out of 12.) After some confusion about the rules with one parent shouting, the competition ended, prizes were awarded. and photos taken. Although there were 12 kids, you’ll notice there were only 11 kids in the group photo below — one family left after their daughter was eliminated. Josh got a certificate, a 2nd place ribbon, and a lifetime’s supply of detergent. I’m kidding — he also got a small gift card to use towards whatever his little heart desires.

We’ll be back here in two weeks for the state level competition. I’m glad it’s two weeks from now, because Josh is pretty tired of studying spelling words. 😉

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