Spell Master Heidi

I know, those words just don’t go together!!   Anyone who knows me well knows that spelling is pretty much the last thing I am good at.  Spelling was something I struggled with all through my educational career.  I am sure if you are a faithful blog reader you too have probably caught some of my mistakes on this very blog.  Kudos to you!  Although I have come a long way with my Spelling skills, it is something I have just come to terms with.  The funny thing is, even though my spelling and grammar might not be the best, you keep coming back to read my blog, don’t you?  Therefore, it must not be that big of a deal, right?  Needless to say when my principal asked me if I would be the Spell Master for the Fourth Grade, District Wide, Spelling Bee I was shocked.  I guess he didn’t realize I was the world’s worst speller…  I told him I didn’t think I could do it but he really believes in me and felt that I could.  So, I couldn’t say no, right?  The great thing about being a Spell Master is that you don’t actually have to know how to spell any of the words.  You are the person who runs the Bee.  You read the words and the sentences that go with them and then tell the students if they spelled them correctly or not.  It’s a pretty big job… no pressure!!  Even though the words are right in front of you, it is really nerve racking because Spelling Bees are very intense.  If you have ever been to one, you know that you could hear a pin drop in the room and you can just feel the tension.  You are nervous, the kids are nervous and the parents are nervous.  The first year I did it I really thought I was going to pass out, I am not just saying that either.  The second year, I couldn’t believe I had agreed to do it a second time.  This was my third year and although I was not as nervous, I still had butterflies.  Anyway, I am sharing this because it is a really exciting thing for me.  I hear it’s good for us to push ourselves out of our comfort zone every once in a while. For me being a Spell Master is exactly that.  I hate reading aloud.  I am not a good speller and the parents really make me nervous.  When it’s done however, I feel really good about myself.  Who would have guessed it, me a Spell Master?  Running a Spelling Bee???  It still makes me laugh!  I know you might think that fourth grade words would be really easy, trust me, they aren’t.  Even older, wiser teachers who I look up to because they have been doing these things for years still get nervous.  These kids are amazing!  They learn hundreds of words and pretty much memorize them all.  Many of the words are words that I have rarely, if ever, heard before.  The kids work so hard and most of them really know their stuff.  As weird as it is for me, it’s neat to be a part of something like this.  I don’t force myself to step out of my comfort zone very often but when it’s all said and done and the ribbons are passed out, I am always glad I did.   I bet the kids have no idea that even the judges are getting something out of the experience!