Are You Smarter Than a Second Grader?

One of the very cool things that I am able to do is volunteer in Sunshine's classroom once a month. I have been lucky that I have been able to do this since Kindergarten.

I love the opportunity to meet the children, see what is going on in the classroom and stay connected with her. She always gets excited when she knows I am going to be coming into the classroom as well.

This year my time usually lines up with writing or reading. Two things that I have struggled with my whole life. I read slowly, always have, but over time I have gained a love of reading. And not until I was in my late 20s did I start to write well, now I am actually asked to write documentation and other documents.

One thing that I have never been good at is spelling. My Mom says it is because when I was learning to spell I was taught to remember Q like the qua qua the sound a coffee pot makes.. so you can see the confusion is that a C or a Q? I once spelled my name wrong on a standardized test and had to take remedial English as a Freshman in college because my spelling score was so low.

I digress a bit here... it has been interesting reading with Sunshine. Often she will read to me in the car where I can't see the words so she spells the letters for me and I try to come with the right word.. lucky for me.. probably because I am such an awful speller I have learned to figure words out based on context not their spelling.. this I am monumentally good at.

So today while volunteering I was asked to read stories the kids had written and give them feedback or help them out. Things like punctuation and capitalization I got that one covered... but OH BOY when it comes to spelling I may be corrupting an entire second grade class.

I was asked by 2 different children how you spell scared.. like I was scared of the monster. I had to write it down.. scared? scarred? wait which is scared of the monster and which is I was scarred by the surgery?

And on last weeks spelling list moped. I had to email my Mother and say.. moped.. is that I moped around all day because I was sad, or I mopped the floor?

Pretty scary huh?

Best Things...

It has been a long time since I've had much to say... well that isn't exactly true.. I often have lots to say and rarely lack for words- the right ones or the wrong once.

Like many people these days I'm barely breathing, barely keeping my head above water. In every part of my life I am trying to do more with less. I go from thing to thing to thing and don't stop, so to actually have the time to sit and write a few of my many words down just doesn't happen.

One of the things I have noticed during this time of hurry scurry is that people are nicer to each other. Maybe it comes from having to reprioritze and realizing as the bumper sticker I saw the other day said.. "the best things in life aren't things".

Maybe it comes from a common sense of treading water and barely breathing.

Or maybe it is like that natural instinct that you see in animals... somehow they know when you are having a rough day and just need them to sit next to you and let you know they are here.

Whatever the cause is I am grateful for the kindness of strangers and for the people in my life who have taken the time to send kind words and warm fuzzies... those are some of the "best things" in the world.